For those who are already receiving the analog stations digitally, are those stations being transmitted in unencrypted or encrypted QAM?

I'm not sure if any system in the BA is officially receiving the digital ADS channels, I'm not here. I think I read somewhere that only the limited basic channels will not be encrypted since those are the ones that everyone is authorized to receive.

UPDATE to the Universal HD roll out !!!!!!!

So that means Los Gatos, Saratoga and Milpitas and other 550 MHz systems that carry INHD2 will see the Olympics. My thanks to MikeF5 for bringing this suggestion to my attention

Laters,
Mikef5

Did you actually help determine programming for a multi-billion dollar telecommunications company???? Nice work!! :D

Sorry Keenan..... I don't know what to tell you and the other Santa Rosa people. I have a bad feeling Santa Rosa has done a Walnut Creek or there is some problem with Santa Rosa that I just can't find anything about but I'll keep trying. My only suggestion is to go to the Franchise Board and find out what's going on with Comcast.

Laters,
Mikef5
Like I said, I don't get very optimistic about Comcast in Santa Rosa at all. Maybe we have more analog channels that other systems..? We still have more analog than digital on this system... relatively speaking, the Santa Rosa system is still in the dark ages as far as cable systems go, at least in the bay area.

As far as UNI-HD goes, I won't miss that at all as DirecTV has had it since before the 2004 Olympics.....gives you an idea how slow Comcast moves...

At least the rest of you know there is room for at least one more HD channel on your systems, which begs the question, why haven't they added TNT-HD since we know now the room is actually there for it.. ;)

Did you actually help determine programming for a multi-billion dollar telecommunications company???? Nice work!! :D
Actually, Comcast had thought of the idea but didn't know it would affect so many people having it shown on channel 726 instead of 720 especially the 550 MHz systems, I just put the idea up as a better way to show off Universal HD to more people and let the people of the 550 MHz areas know what is coming up the road for them when all this change over is completed. It took a lot of doing for Comcast to get all the partys to agree to let Comcast do it. FSN, Universal HD and NBC all had to agree to the showing of the Olympics on channel 720 and to try and not have any scheduling conflicts. It would have been much easier for Comcast to use channel 726 which is an open channel with no particular schedule to deal with but instead decided to try and work the deal so more people could get Universal HD for the Olympics. I'm just sorry it doesn't work out for everyone but you have to do what you can do for the most people that you can. When this digital conversion is over hopefully this won't be a problem.

Laters,
Mikef5

Actually, Comcast had thought of the idea but didn't know it would affect so many people having it shown on channel 726 instead of 720 especially the 550 MHz systems,
Nice...sure doesn't instill a lot of faith when you hear that sort of remark... :rolleyes:

Counselor, your witness...

Nice...sure doesn't instill a lot of faith when you hear that sort of remark... :rolleyes:

Counselor, your witness...
Keenan, those were MY words not Comcast's. I was just stating that until I made the point that it might be better to put it on 720 instead of 726 they were just going to get the channel on the system so that it would be ready before the start of the Olympics while they worked out a final contract so blame me not Comcast, a bad choice of words on my part. They went the extra mile to try and include more people in this rollout and they didn't have to. I wish that the entire Bay Area could get this but for some reason there is a problem with Santa Rosa which needs to be dealt with by the Franchise Board. That's how I started with my dealings with Comcast and the franchise board has the power to get things done if they have the incentive and you and the other people of Santa Rosa have to be that incentive. I do understand your frustration and I will do what I can for ALL the people of the 550 MHz systems not just my own and I have always tried to keep you and others in the loop and I will continue to do so until they pry this cold hard remote from my dying hands :D .

Laters,
Mikef5

Okay, you're excused.. :p

I sent you a PM.

Here is an annoying problem. My Sony KDF55-WF655 RPT has recently started to forget all of the channels on the Cable input. It is working fine when I turn it off in the evening. The next day, the channel memory is completely empty. It comes up on what-ever channel I was watching when I turned if off, but the memory is gone. I have to re-scan to get the analog channels back. This only happens on the Cable input, not the Antenna input. Could Comcast be doing something during their "maintainance period" that is causing this? Anyone else seeing strange things like this? I happened last week, again on Sunday morning and again this morning. If I turn it off during the day, it comes up OK. Any thoughts on this one?

Greg

(2) Instead of using Channel 726 for the Universal HD Olympic programming we have decided to use Channel 720, the spot where INHD2 sits so more cable systems can carry the Olympic Games.

(So that means Los Gatos, Saratoga and Milpitas and other 550 MHz systems that carry INHD2 will see the Olympics. My thanks to MikeF5 for bringing this suggestion to my attention)


Wow. Does this mean Sunnyvale actually has worse service than Saramilgatos? I've never seen channels 720 and 726. Sigh. No Universal HD for the Olympics then.

Wow. Does this mean Sunnyvale actually has worse service than Saramilgatos? I've never seen channels 720 and 726. Sigh. No Universal HD for the Olympics then.


Yep...parts of sunnyvale are 550Mhz similar to Saramilgatos but they managed to add 719/720 (InHd/InHD2)...neither have 726.

On the otherhand parts of Sunnyvale are 750Mhz and have everything (you're on the wrong side of the tracks per se (at least as far as comcast is concerned))

ummmm is anyone else miffed about the warriors getting pre-empted?? ok they aren't doing too well lately but cmon, why can't we have warriors and olympics??

i looked at UHD's schedule, other than the olympics. I see that knight-rider is on 3 times a day. it really isn't something i'd give up 3 weeks of warriors bball for!! having the olympics on sorta makes it a little better but these aren't sports i usually follow.

Anybody else notice horrible macroblocking on the Showtime (or was it HBO?) broadcast of Evita last night? I only saw the last few minutes of the movie, but it was unwatchable! BTW, I'm in the Dublin/Pleasanton area.

What about ESPN2 HD?

Come summer, the World Cup will be on ESPN2, I believe.

There's got to be some interest in the WC in HD. As much as the Olympics, I would think?

ummmm is anyone else miffed about the warriors getting pre-empted?? ok they aren't doing too well lately but cmon, why can't we have warriors and olympics??

i looked at UHD's schedule, other than the olympics. I see that knight-rider is on 3 times a day. it really isn't something i'd give up 3 weeks of warriors bball for!! having the olympics on sorta makes it a little better but these aren't sports i usually follow.Maybe they plan to preempt regular InHD2 and FOXBA-HD programming with UHD Olympics coverage only when there is actually an Olympics event on UHD? That might minimize any conflicts with Warrior games.

What about ESPN2 HD?

Come summer, the World Cup will be on ESPN2, I believe.

There's got to be some interest in the WC in HD. As much as the Olympics, I would think?
This may or may not have something to do with it, from a post in the HOTP thread,

Iger also confirmed that ESPN is currently in negotiations with Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable regarding renewal of their carriage deals. He said that while negotiations are not going as quickly as he would like, they are moving forward.

“A lot of details have already been worked out between Comcast and Time Warner and Disney, but there are still some details to go. Of course we are talking about long-term deals with many moving parts that the world of technology is making more and more complex,” Iger said.

“There are some pretty interesting issues on the table in terms of the role of the distributor versus the role of the programmer,” he added. “While I’m a little frustrated at the pace because it has taken a long time, I’m not concerned about the ultimate outcome.”

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7080298#post7080298
Hot Off The Press! The Latest Television News and Info - AVS Forum

Here is an annoying problem. My Sony KDF55-WF655 RPT has recently started to forget all of the channels on the Cable input. It is working fine when I turn it off in the evening. The next day, the channel memory is completely empty. It comes up on what-ever channel I was watching when I turned if off, but the memory is gone. I have to re-scan to get the analog channels back. This only happens on the Cable input, not the Antenna input. Could Comcast be doing something during their "maintainance period" that is causing this? Anyone else seeing strange things like this? I happened last week, again on Sunday morning and again this morning. If I turn it off during the day, it comes up OK. Any thoughts on this one?
I haven't been seeing anything like that on my Sharp QAM tuner. A total guess is the recent PSIP problems is bringing forward a bug in the channel tables for the Sony. It is possible a factory reset and rescan will alleviate. If you try a factory reset, make sure you write down all your custom settings.

(2) Instead of using Channel 726 for the Universal HD Olympic programming we have decided to use Channel 720, the spot where INHD2 sits so more cable systems can carry the Olympic Games.

I guess it goes to show that everyone has different preferences based upon their system's bandwidth. I would have preferred that UHD be given a stand-alone channel like 726, and then perhaps the guide might reflect the actual programming? Channel 720 (INHD2) is a crapshoot as far as what the guide says and what is actually being broadcast. But I certainly feel that Comcast owes our 550Mhz brethren any solution it can provide for now.


Regular scheduled programming on INHD2 will resume after the Olympics.
In the end, I guess it doesn't really matter since UHD will be taken away from us after the Olympics, right? What a shame..... :confused:

In the end, I guess it doesn't really matter since UHD will be taken away from us after the Olympics, right? What a shame..... :confused:

as i said, it is net zero, we get olympics, lose warriors, then it reverts back to normal after that.

In the end, I guess it doesn't really matter since UHD will be taken away from us after the Olympics, right? What a shame..... :confused:

Only until the final contract is signed and it will be back. If you want to be an optimist they could have a final contract done before the Olympics end and then it won't go away just move to it's permanent channel but that's just me hoping for the best. Heck, my area won't get it until after the conversion is completed but at least I want to be able to see what's coming down the road.

Laters,
Mikef5

Only until the final contract is signed and it will be back. If you want to be an optimist they could have a final contract done before the Olympics end and then it won't go away just move to it's permanent channel but that's just me hoping for the best. Heck, my area won't get it until after the conversion is completed but at least I want to be able to see what's coming down the road.
Laters,
Mikef5

After going without TNT-HD which was announced almost a year ago, I would definitely say that's *extremely* optimistic!

But thanks for keeping us informed!

I know this has probably been hashed over in the past, but does Comcast give any rational reason as to why the i-guide info is incorrect so often? This is especially true for the INHD networks and HDSE. It's so annoying.

I know this has probably been hashed over in the past, but does Comcast give any rational reason as to why the i-guide info is incorrect so often? This is especially true for the INHD networks and HDSE. It's so annoying.

Yeah, it really is. I've come to the point where I have to click on those channels now to see what's *really* on them, since the Guide is either inaccurate or gives no title information at all.....and I've missed programs that I would have wanted to see because of it. That seems to defeat the whole purpose of a Programming Guide :(

Yeah, it really is. I've come to the point where I have to click on those channels now to see what's *really* on them, since the Guide is either inaccurate or gives no title information at all.....and I've missed programs that I would have wanted to see because of it. That seems to defeat the whole purpose of a Programming Guide :(
And it certainly reduces the DVR functionality. You can't plan to record what you don't know is going to be on!

Have they actually had anything on the HDSE channel? I never check 725 because I've never seen anything on it.

I can't remember how many times I've seen the guide list "boxing", only to see the polar opposite, like ice dancing...

Have they actually had anything on the HDSE channel? I never check 725 because I've never seen anything on it.

Rarely, BUT I have run across HD movies and concerts there occasionally.
There seems to be no pattern to it......

OK, I realize this was probably done in vain, but I just placed a call to Comcast Customer Service (1-800-COMCAST), and complained about the i-Guide info being incorrect very often for INHD and HDSE. He seemed very suprised (now there's a shock!), and claimed "that's not correct" (duh!). He asked for my phone number, offerred to send an e-mail on my behalf to the head end at my location to notify them.

I assume that's where it will die, but it was worth a shot. Maybe I'll get a phone call back, but I'm certainly not holding my breath!

OK, I realize this was probably done in vain, but I just placed a call to Comcast Customer Service (1-800-COMCAST), and complained about the i-Guide info being incorrect very often for INHD and HDSE. He seemed very suprised (now there's a shock!), and claimed "that's not correct" (duh!). He asked for my phone number, offerred to send an e-mail on my behalf to the head end at my location to notify them.

I assume that's where it will die, but it was worth a shot. Maybe I'll get a phone call back, but I'm certainly not holding my breath!


Better than me. I tried that once and the CSR was unsympathetic, had no idea what I was talking about, and had no interest in resolving anything.

OK, I had a message on DVR tonight, Olympic coverage to start on 2/9 on UHD channel 726.

So does this make official?

-- Brandy

Better than me. I tried that once and the CSR was unsympathetic, had no idea what I was talking about, and had no interest in resolving anything.
I actually decided to take a multi-pronged approach, and also e-mailed their tech service about the issue. So far, I have received 2 e-mail responses from them, with what appears to be a desire to resolve, or at least investigate the issue. I have reporoduced the e-mail string below, with unecessary items removed for compactness. It's in reverse order, with most recent e-mail first.

Dear Christian,
Thank you for contacting us regarding your Comcast cable service.

Thank you for your patronage. I have escalated this information to my lead who will look into this and may need to contact the local office about this. We do apologize for this inconvenience. Please email back within 48 hours to check up on this topic.

Sincerely,

Bill
Comcast Customer Care

Original Message Follows:
-------------------------

Bill,
Thank you for your prompt response. I've had digital cable/HD for about a month now, and it's been happening since day one. I'm actually surprised it hasn't been reported before now. I am an active member of the AVS Forum online, and many Comcast customers in the Bay Area have experienced the same problem.

I also appreciate the other on-line resources you gave me, but in actuality, part of my monthly bill goes to support the i-Guide, and I expect it to be accurate when I need to use it. I shouldn't need to go elsewhere to get the info. Also, an inaccurate i-Guide makes it nearly impossible to schedule recordings with my DVR.

I appreciate anything you can do to escalate this to the appropriate people to get it resolved.

Thanks again,and I look forward to your reponse.
Christian Sonntag

-----Original Message-----
Dear Christian,

Thank you for contacting us regarding your Comcast cable service.

Thank you for your patronage. We do apologize for this inconvenience. How long
has this been happening? You may want to check out these website for more
information.

http://www.zap2it.com/index

http://www.tvguide.com/default

OK, I had a message on DVR tonight, Olympic coverage to start on 2/9 on UHD channel 726.

So does this make official?

-- Brandy
Just checked my messages, but nothing relating to UNI-HD, only an older message about Golf and OLN changing channels.

OK, I had a message on DVR tonight, Olympic coverage to start on 2/9 on UHD channel 726.

So does this make official?

-- Brandy

No message here in Moraga. Brandy, what city are you in?

OK, I had a message on DVR tonight, Olympic coverage to start on 2/9 on UHD channel 726.

So does this make official?

-- Brandy

Received the same message last night on my box in Mountain View.

web

weird! no message here in palo alto yet. what system is palo alto in?

Anyone getting audio on 703 right now (10:17pm)?
Hello NBC... anyone listen to what goes out?

jeff

Anyone getting audio on 703 right now (10:17pm)?
Hello NBC... anyone listen to what goes out?

jeff
Audio on 703 here (Dublin), but earlier during Scrubs, the macroblocking was horrible.

By the way, the HD PQ on "Love Monkey" on 705 is spectacular.

I get audio during the scene changes (dum dum), then nothing. With the volume WAY up, I can hear people walking around and I just heard someone say something. Must be an open mike somewhere. Odd that in dublin all is well.

On another note, I'm not seeing UHD here. How about there? We should be on the same head end.

jeff

I get audio during the scene changes (dum dum), then nothing. With the volume WAY up, I can hear people walking around and I just heard someone say something. Must be an open mike somewhere. Odd that in dublin all is well.

On another note, I'm not seeing UHD here. How about there? We should be on the same head end.

jeff


Same issue in Hercules... Commercials come in fine, programming seems to only have the surround tracks going thorugh. Tried calling the news desk to have them transfer me to Engineering but w/no luck. I got somebody's personal voice mail. Anybody know the direct number for KNTV engineering?

Same issue in Hercules... Commercials come in fine, programming seems to only have the surround tracks going thorugh. Tried calling the news desk to have them transfer me to Engineering but w/no luck. I got somebody's personal voice mail. Anybody know the direct number for KNTV engineering?
I doubt it's a KNTV problem. Have you tried the analog channel (3)? If it's ok, then there's something going on at Comcast's end.

I get audio during the scene changes (dum dum), then nothing. With the volume WAY up, I can hear people walking around and I just heard someone say something. Must be an open mike somewhere. Odd that in dublin all is well.

On another note, I'm not seeing UHD here. How about there? We should be on the same head end.

jeff
I spoke too soon, no audio on 703, but 003 is fine. As far as being on the same head end, I'm not so sure. Dublin is considered part of the "Dublin/Pleasanton" network, and I don't know if that includes Livermore.

I doubt it's a KNTV problem. Have you tried the analog channel (3)? If it's ok, then there's something going on at Comcast's end.


As I said in my previous post, the commercials are totally fine. It's just when the actual program clicks in, only the surround channels come in.

I agree about the surround channels...seems they're the only ones working.

I spoke too soon, no audio on 703, but 003 is fine. As far as being on the same head end, I'm not so sure. Dublin is considered part of the "Dublin/Pleasanton" network, and I don't know if that includes Livermore.

Hercules is on the same headend as Berkeley on the other side of the east bay.

We just got comcast digital cable/HD. Everything works fine - the HD-DVR runs smoothly, the HD programming is :eek: incredible, but we did notice the that standard def programming is considerably lower quality than before. Before, we just ran the cable signal directly into the TV with no tuner box of any kind. To test our suspicions, we disconnected the cable from the comcast box and ran it directly into the TV, and vice versa, and sure enough, the standard def picture appeared much better when it was run directly through the TV. any explanation for this? :confused:

We just got comcast digital cable/HD. Everything works fine - the HD-DVR runs smoothly, the HD programming is :eek: incredible, but we did notice the that standard def programming is considerably lower quality than before. Before, we just ran the cable signal directly into the TV with no tuner box of any kind. To test our suspicions, we disconnected the cable from the comcast box and ran it directly into the TV, and vice versa, and sure enough, the standard def picture appeared much better when it was run directly through the TV. any explanation for this? :confused:

It is known that the Moto 6412 has a pretty bad analog tuner. Some people have reported the Phase III box is a bit of an improvement. I personally have a Phase II so I can't confirm.

As I said in my previous post, the commercials are totally fine. It's just when the actual program clicks in, only the surround channels come in.
KNTV swapped out their encoding equipment today and that could be the source of the audio problem, the OTA folks are having some problems also. KNBC-LA is fine.

No message here in Moraga. Brandy, what city are you in?

Mountain View, CA

It is known that the Moto 6412 has a pretty bad analog tuner. Some people have reported the Phase III box is a bit of an improvement. I personally have a Phase II so I can't confirm.

Is there any way to bypass that - maybe get a splitter and run one to the DVR and one to the TV, use the TV for standard def and the DVR for HD?

D* just added TNT HD... comcast!! dangit, more action now. seems like only mountain view has gotten the chan 726 message... so weird because we share the same regional office, but apparently not the same system, otherwise we'd get that message too.

so what does this mean to pre-empting 720?? if the message says 726, that has to mean no pre-empted 720!

D* adding TNT-HD will hopefully put pressure on Comcast to follow suit.

Is there any way to bypass that - maybe get a splitter and run one to the DVR and one to the TV, use the TV for standard def and the DVR for HD?

You can absolutely do that...you just won't be able to record things coming in on that split directly into your TV. Another thing to keep in mind is signal strength. Be sure to get a good quality 1GHz splitter -- and only get a 2-way if you're only going to split it into two different cables. If you have signal quality problems, you may want to invest in a bi-directional signal amplifier which you can pick up at Radio Shack for around $30.

D* just added TNT HD... comcast!! dangit, more action now. seems like only mountain view has gotten the chan 726 message... so weird because we share the same regional office, but apparently not the same system, otherwise we'd get that message too.

so what does this mean to pre-empting 720?? if the message says 726, that has to mean no pre-empted 720!

Fremont had this message on Saturday so it is making the rounds in the Bay Area.

OLN and GOLF channel both moved on Saturday but the TV Guide channel still has them in the wrong place and we have had no message for that one.

Other people have had the message on the Golf channel but not the UHD one. Looks like Comcast's messaging system is very well orginized....... :)

Anybody else received a message about Universal HD yet? If everyone could check their messages and post here (along with city), we might be able to tell who is getting the new channel which supposedly starts tomorrow. It'll also be interesting to see if the i-Guide gets updated...I know, I know...wishful thinking...

UNI-HD should be on all systems that have INHD, including 550 systems that have INHD which I believe there is one or two of them in the south bay.

The cities listed below probably WILL NOT have UNI-HD,

Antioch
Bay Point
Benicia
Castro Valley
Hayward
Los Gatos
Monte Sereno
Pittsburg
San Leandro
San Lorenzo
Santa Rosa
Saratoga
Vallejo
and portions of Sunnyvale

I know that Milpitas had INHD added recently but not sure if any of the other cities on the list have.

Regarding TNT-HD, I believe it showed up in Seattle yesterday.

Anybody else received a message about Universal HD yet? If everyone could check their messages and post here (along with city), we might be able to tell who is getting the new channel which supposedly starts tomorrow. It'll also be interesting to see if the i-Guide gets updated...I know, I know...wishful thinking...


I received the message in SAN JOSE on Monday.

KNTV swapped out their encoding equipment today and that could be the source of the audio problem, the OTA folks are having some problems also. KNBC-LA is fine.

I had the same audio problem in San Jose while trying to watch L&O: SVU.
Does anyone know if KNTV is aware of this situation?

UNI-HD should be on all systems that have INHD, including 550 systems that have INHD which I believe there is one or two of them in the south bay.

The cities listed below probably WILL NOT have UNI-HD,

Santa Rosa
Saratoga
Vallejo
and portions of Sunnyvale

.


I live in Vallejo, and I get both INHD and INHD2, so your logic doesn't follow....

I live in Vallejo, and I get both INHD and INHD2, so your logic doesn't follow....
He DID say probably...

You can absolutely do that...you just won't be able to record things coming in on that split directly into your TV. Another thing to keep in mind is signal strength. Be sure to get a good quality 1GHz splitter -- and only get a 2-way if you're only going to split it into two different cables. If you have signal quality problems, you may want to invest in a bi-directional signal amplifier which you can pick up at Radio Shack for around $30.

If (and I stress if) you need an amp, I would not get a radio shack one. The quality is lower than these:
http://www.cabletvamps.com/drop%20amps.htm

In fact these are the same ones that comcast uses. I have the EDA-EQ3100 installed in my home and it's comcast approved.

Best,
jeff

I live in Vallejo, and I get both INHD and INHD2, so your logic doesn't follow....
That list from was from about 10 mos ago, so certainly things may have changed.

I received the message in SAN JOSE on Monday.
I also received the same message. I don't see 726 in the guide yet - will it just show up on 2/9?

I think Mikef5's contact said that UNI-HD would show up on 720 so I guess the message about 726 is outdated?

Ok guys, here's what you have to decide. Do you believe a message on your box which IMHO is about as accurate as a CSR or do you believe the V.P. of Communications for Comcast ?? The Universal HD deal is not final, what Comcast is doing is a temporary showing of UNI-HD for the Olympics and so you can see what it has to offer. They are using channel 720 so more people ( like some of the 550 MHz systems) can view the upcoming channel and the Olympic coverage while they finalize the contract. It will then get it's own channel. FSN signed off on the idea because they said it would not conflict with their schedule and they use channel 720 to show their HD games so it should not be a problem. I guess the real proof of the pudding will be when they actually start showing the Olympic coverage.

Laters,
Mikef5

You can absolutely do that...you just won't be able to record things coming in on that split directly into your TV. Another thing to keep in mind is signal strength. Be sure to get a good quality 1GHz splitter -- and only get a 2-way if you're only going to split it into two different cables..

I am digressing but if you get a 3 way splitter but connect only two slots, wouldn't that be pretty much same as two way splitter?

We're hearing from our encoder manufacturer that it may take them a little longer than originally anticipated to work out the problems which presented themselves on Wednesday 2/01 during our new equipment installation. Since the solutions may now be a few weeks away, rather than a few days, we have decided to return temporarily to our old schedule for the various digital channels.

KQED HD (DT9.1 / Comcast 709) will go back to an 8pm sign-on, effective tonight, Wed 2/08. KQED World, Life and Kids (DT9.3-9.5 / Comcast 190-192) will go back to airing 6am-8pm. KQED Encore (DT9.2 / Comcast 189) remains 24/7 on both delivery methods.

This should restore the expected schedules for the various channels for our Comcast viewers, and mean only a temporary delay in expanded hours for our Over The Air viewers. Once the new encoders are successfully installed, we'll be offering more OTA hours from Sutro, and eventual 24/7 service over Comcast Cable for all 6 of our channels as Comcast rolls out its upgraded digital service throughout the Bay Area over the spring and early summer.

Again, we appreciate your patience as we work on fine tuning and testing the new encoders, with the aim of providing more and better digital service to all our viewers, both OTA and Cable.

Thanks!

Red Dana
Manager, KQED TV9 & DT9 Viewer Services

Ok guys, here's what you have to decide. Do you believe a message on your box which IMHO is about as accurate as a CSR or do you believe the V.P. of Communications for Comcast ?? The Universal HD deal is not final, what Comcast is doing is a temporary showing of UNI-HD for the Olympics and so you can see what it has to offer. They are using channel 720 so more people ( like some of the 550 MHz systems) can view the upcoming channel and the Olympic coverage while they finalize the contract. It will then get it's own channel. FSN signed off on the idea because they said it would not conflict with their schedule and they use channel 720 to show their HD games so it should not be a problem. I guess the real proof of the pudding will be when they actually start showing the Olympic coverage.

Laters,
Mikef5

thank you for that. now i can have both warriors and figure skating!!

I am digressing but if you get a 3 way splitter but connect only two slots, wouldn't that be pretty much same as two way splitter?
No, that would be the same as a 3-way splitter.

Some 3-way are balanced, in that the loss is equal to all 3 ports. Some are unbalanced in that 1 port has less loss than the other 2. In particular the port that has less loss would roughly have the same loss as a 2-way split. The 2 ports with more loss would roughly have the same loss as a 4-way split.

No, that would be the same as a 3-way splitter.

Some 3-way are balanced, in that the loss is equal to all 3 ports. Some are unbalanced in that 1 port has less loss than the other 2. In particular the port that has less loss would roughly have the same loss as a 2-way split. The 2 ports with more loss would roughly have the same loss as a 4-way split.
Not sure you answered the question he was really trying to ask, and I'd like to learn as well:
Let's assume that he has a balanced 3-way splitter, with 5.7dB losses at each of the 3 splits. If he connects to only 2 of those splits, what would the losses be?

thank you for that. now i can have both warriors and figure skating!!
Here's the link to FSN Bay Area and the Warriors HD schedule....
http://fsnbayarea.com/HD_Warriors.jsp
I see one game on 2/27 and another on 3/1, I think both were at 7:30 pm. I don't know how long the Olympics last but I don't think this should be a problem for those that like basketball. For me baseball is my sport of choice so if it preempted a Giants or A's game I'd probably feel the same as you but I think Comcast is doing a good thing trying to get more people on this UNI-HD deal and showing the Olympics.

Laters,
Mikef5

Not sure you answered the question he was really trying to ask, and I'd like to learn as well:
Let's assume that he has a balanced 3-way splitter, with 5.7dB losses at each of the 3 splits. If he connects to only 2 of those splits, what would the losses be?
Read the first sentence.

It would be 5.7dB loss.

Not sure you answered the question he was really trying to ask, and I'd like to learn as well:
Let's assume that he has a balanced 3-way splitter, with 5.7dB losses at each of the 3 splits. If he connects to only 2 of those splits, what would the losses be?

My experience with a 3-way splitter was that one output was -3 db and the other two were -6 db. Another point is that if you use a signal amplifier, it needs to be bidirectional. Many are not, and unless it is bidirectional you will not be able to send a signal back through it, e.g., to watch programs on demand. I would start with a good 2-way splitter and if the signal strength is too low, then get a good bidirectional amp with as many amplified outputs as you need.

My experience with a 3-way splitter was that one output was -3 db and the other two were -6 db.
That's because (as I understand it), cheaper 3-way splitters are actually 2-way splitters that have had one of their splits split again, to provide the additional split. Therefore, the untouched split remains at -3dB, and the other 2 splits go to -6dB. Better splitters actually use a circuit board design that balances all the splits evenly.

If (and I stress if) you need an amp, I would not get a radio shack one. The quality is lower than these:
http://www.cabletvamps.com/drop%20amps.htm

In fact these are the same ones that comcast uses. I have the EDA-EQ3100 installed in my home and it's comcast approved.

Best,
jeff

I've been using the Radio Shack 1-port bidirectional amp and it's been wonderful. The cool thing about the Radio Shack model (and I'm sure other brands offer this as well) is the ability to power up/down the amplification so you can find the "sweet spot". I used to have 2-way splitter after the amp and the amplification was set pretty low. Recently I swapped out the 2-way for a 3-way splitter and realized I was getting ~4db less into the STB. I just cranked up the amplifcation and all was back to normal.

That's because (as I understand it), cheaper 3-way splitters are actually 2-way splitters that have had one of their splits split again, to provide the additional split. Therefore, the untouched split remains at -3dB, and the other 2 splits go to -6dB. Better splitters actually use a circuit board design that balances all the splits evenly.
In my experience whether it is balanced or unbalanced has more to do with usage than with cost. There are situations when you may want the unbalanced split. For example analog cable is more sensitive to signal loss than digital cable, so if you have something that depends on analog cable, connect it to the lower loss port. Also the db loss you see printed on the splitter is just the forward direction. The return loss is present also, but is not listed. The more splits you have, the more return loss. Most amplifiers only amplify the forward direction and pass through the return path, so the reverse direction suffers all the signal loss from the splits. The return path is critical for cable modem usage, so many times people will use unbalanced 3-way splits and connect the cable modem to the split with least loss.

You can get amps that amplify both forward and return path, but you won't find them at Radio Shack and they are usually over $60.

Up to 4-way split, high quality splitter should run you $1-$2 so cost shouldn't be a major issue.

BTW you guys talking about -3db 2-way splits and -6db 3unbalanced/4-way splits are talking about theoretical loss of 50% and 75%. In practice, I've never seen passive splitters achieve perfect 50% and 75% loss. Usually they are more like -3.4db and -7.1db.

It is known that the Moto 6412 has a pretty bad analog tuner. Some people have reported the Phase III box is a bit of an improvement. I personally have a Phase II so I can't confirm.

We may go the splitter direction, but we would like to be able to record good quality analog, so what is the Phase III box? Is that the actual name of the box, and why did comcast give us one over the other? Could we just call comcast and say look, you've been pushing the service on us for some time, and its worse than what we had before - we'd like a better box (Phase III)?

We may go the splitter direction, but we would like to be able to record good quality analog, so what is the Phase III box? Is that the actual name of the box, and why did comcast give us one over the other? Could we just call comcast and say look, you've been pushing the service on us for some time, and its worse than what we had before - we'd like a better box (Phase III)?

The Phase III is simply a newer version of the 6412. You should first make sure you don't already have one. The Phase III 6412 has a label on the front that says DCT6412 III. It also has an HDMI output; the earlier models have a DVI output. When my 6412 started behaving badly, I simply took it to the nearest Comcast location, asked to swap boxes, and said I wanted a Phase III. I was handed one, no questions asked and no fee. While I don't watch many digital-but-not-hd shows and have the cable split so I can watch channels 2-75 using the tv tuner, I did notice an improvement with the Phase III over the earlier 6412 for the analog channels. I don't see much difference between the box and my tv's tuner for these channels.

If you search this thread, there are many complaints about the firmware version in the Phase III. We have 12.18, while other areas of the country have been at 12.22 for some time and I recall one message that referred to 12.27. There is an issue with the Phase III concerning the inability of the box to give a true digital dolby multichannel output via the optical or coax links. My old box did digital dolby fine; the Phase III did not. But recently my box has started sending digital dolby to my receiver even though the firmware has not changed. So it appears that the problem may not be a firmware issue.

To echo a comment above, I have also had excellent performance from a Radio Shack bidirectional amp.

Did anyone else notice the advertisement during Lost tonight for Channel 7 news in HD? I though it might be an ABC network advertisement but it had the "7" logo -- it was almost like a teaser. If they do start broadcasting in HD then they would be the first Bay Area local news program to do so.

Did anyone else notice the advertisement during Lost tonight for Channel 7 news in HD? I though it might be an ABC network advertisement but it had the "7" logo -- it was almost like a teaser. If they do start broadcasting in HD then they would be the first Bay Area local news program to do so.
Did they say when it would happen?

Did anyone else notice the advertisement during Lost tonight for Channel 7 news in HD? I though it might be an ABC network advertisement but it had the "7" logo -- it was almost like a teaser. If they do start broadcasting in HD then they would be the first Bay Area local news program to do so.
Apparently, KABC in SoCal has already started broadcasting in HD.

Did anyone else notice the advertisement during Lost tonight for Channel 7 news in HD? I though it might be an ABC network advertisement but it had the "7" logo -- it was almost like a teaser. If they do start broadcasting in HD then they would be the first Bay Area local news program to do so.
You sure they said Channel 7 news in HD or Sky7 in HD ?? The helicopter in LA is already broadcasting the chopper feed in HD and I think that's what's coming up here also. I also heard NBC is equipping their chopper with HD, why ??? Your guess is as good as mine but it seems they all have to have a weather channel to so they can stay up with the Jones... :)

Laters,
Mikef5

You sure they said Channel 7 news in HD or Sky7 in HD ?? The helicopter in LA is already broadcasting the chopper feed in HD and I think that's what's coming up here also. I also heard NBC is equipping their chopper with HD, why ??? Your guess is as good as mine but it seems they all have to have a weather channel to so they can stay up with the Jones... :)

Laters,
Mikef5
So, the studio feed in LA is not HD, only the chopper? Seems kinda silly to me...

You sure they said Channel 7 news in HD or Sky7 in HD ?? The helicopter in LA is already broadcasting the chopper feed in HD and I think that's what's coming up here also. I also heard NBC is equipping their chopper with HD, why ??? Your guess is as good as mine but it seems they all have to have a weather channel to so they can stay up with the Jones... :)

Laters,
Mikef5

Yup...that was it: Sky7. And the adverstisement highlighted "breaking news" which is probably the whole "chopper" thing. Seems kind of lame.

So, the studio feed in LA is not HD, only the chopper? Seems kinda silly to me...
Yes it is, KABC News in LA is in HD, they started on Monday I believe, I've been watching it the last couple of nights and it looks pretty good. That weatherman they have is looking pretty weathered in HD. :D

anyone else's L&O screwed up again for the second straight nite?????

seems like someone is forgetting to flip the DD5.1 switch...

Did anyone else notice the advertisement during Lost tonight for Channel 7 news in HD? I though it might be an ABC network advertisement but it had the "7" logo -- it was almost like a teaser. If they do start broadcasting in HD then they would be the first Bay Area local news program to do so.

i first saw it during grey's anatomy...i believe they also mentioned something the other night during the news broadcast but i wasn't paying much attention. but the ad was something to do with "Sky7HD coming to bay area breaking news". so just chopper HD for now i guess.

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/9053/gf1oz.th.jpg (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gf1oz.jpg)

any UHD sightings yet?? i checked this morning and nothing so far...

UHD now on channel 720 (INHD2) in Rohnert Park. The guide still shows the INHD2 data.

oh darn, i didn't actually flip on 720 but saw the guide.

UHD showed up on chan 720 here. No announcement message. PQ looks about the same as D*.

Uni-HD showed up even in the SaraMilgatos area on channel 720. I'll wait for the Olympic broadcast to see if it's better or worse than the rest of the channels. Don't have D* or E* to compare it to but from the little that I've seen on it, it's about the same as NBC in picture quality, good but not as good as CBS but that's on my setup and my area so your mileage my vary.

Laters,
Mikef5

anyone else's L&O screwed up again for the second straight nite?????

seems like someone is forgetting to flip the DD5.1 switch...

It's not just flipping the switch. There's no center, left or right channels. Just commercials and the "dum dum". countdown to the olypics is at 1 day. Will they get it right by then?

Anyone watch the grammy's on KPIX? during bright/flashing lights (e.g. u2 set), anyone notice pixelization? Is CBS now cheating us on bits?

jeff

UHD now on channel 720 (INHD2) in Rohnert Park. The guide still shows the INHD2 data.
God Bless Comcast, they can't even put the correct channel data on their system! Isn't that COMCASTIC?

Anyone watch the grammy's on KPIX? during bright/flashing lights (e.g. u2 set), anyone notice pixelization? Is CBS now cheating us on bits?
jeff
Yeah, I noticed pretty heavy pixelization too, especially during the flashing lights on musical acts. Seems like the encoder couldn't keep up with the changing brightness...

Anyone watch the grammy's on KPIX? during bright/flashing lights (e.g. u2 set), anyone notice pixelization? Is CBS now cheating us on bits?

jeff
By the way, wasn't Sly Stone just plain sad? Only in his early 60's, but can't even raise his chin off his chest...

God Bless Comcast, they can't even put the correct channel data on their system! Isn't that COMCASTIC?
I could be wrong but I don't think that Comcast inputs anything into the guide. I believe it's someone like Tv Guide or some other company like that. I-Guide is a company in it's self and makes the guide software but who populates the guide I'm pretty sure it's not Comcast. But Comcast should ensure that who ever does it for them at least keeps it accurate. Now this Uni-HD thing was a last minute deal and is not a permanent thing yet so I can see why it is not up to date. Now with that being said, it would be nice to have a source so we could know what's showing when. Anyone have contacts with NBC ???

Laters,
Mikef5

I could be wrong but I don't think that Comcast inputs anything into the guide. I believe it's someone like Tv Guide or some other company like that. I-Guide is a company in it's self and makes the guide software but who populates the guide I'm pretty sure it's not Comcast. But Comcast should ensure that who ever does it for them at least keeps it accurate. Now this Uni-HD thing was a last minute deal and is not a permanent thing yet so I can see why it is not up to date. Now with that being said, it would be nice to have a source so we could know what's showing when. Anyone have contacts with NBC ???

Laters,
Mikef5
As you say mikef5, whoever takes care of the guide is not our problem, it's Comcast's, and since part of what we pay Comcast is for an accurate Guide, they should assure that it gets updated as needed. I understand there will be occasional glitches...but nearly daily?

I got a call from somebody at Comcast yesterday after complaining about the constant lack of accurate guide data on the INHD channels as well as on HDSE. She claimed that if the stations change their schedule within 24 hours of airing, then Comcast doesn't have time to make sure the guide gets updated. I can understand the time constraint, but it seems like it happens WAY too often for that to be the cause.

Here's a link to the Universal HD channel lineups, this should help at least getting an idea of what's on and when.....
http://www.universalhd.com/Schedule/daily.bravo?start_date=&end_date=

Laters,
Mikef5

While we're on the subject of inaccurate guide info. It's not just inhd's and hdse, but KRON also. It's never correct.

jeff

As you say mikef5, whoever takes care of the guide is not our problem, it's Comcast's, and since part of what we pay Comcast is for an accurate Guide, they should assure that it gets updated as needed. I understand there will be occasional glitches...but nearly daily?

I got a call from somebody at Comcast yesterday after complaining about the constant lack of accurate guide data on the INHD channels as well as on HDSE. She claimed that if the stations change their schedule within 24 hours of airing, then Comcast doesn't have time to make sure the guide gets updated. I can understand the time constraint, but it seems like it happens WAY too often for that to be the cause.
Yep, you're right that's why we pay them the big bucks and it's real hard to record things when you don't know when they're on or even be able to watch them. I'll ask Mr. J. about it and see if I can at least find out who actually populates the guide and what is the major problem with keeping it accurate. Again though, if the stations make last minute changes it makes it really hard to be accurate no matter who does the guide.

Laters,
Mikef5

Yep, you're right that's why we pay them the big bucks and it's real hard to record things when you don't know when they're on or even be able to watch them. I'll ask Mr. J. about it and see if I can at least find out who actually populates the guide and what is the major problem with keeping it accurate. Again though, if the stations make last minute changes it makes it really hard to be accurate no matter who does the guide.

Laters,
Mikef5
As I said, I completely understand the time constraint. Even then though, it seems like in this day and age, there could be a mechanism that automatically notifies the "guide populator" (whoever that is), and the guide could be updated reasonably quickly (a few hours maybe?)

In either case, it would be nice to hear from the horse's mouth how the process works, if for no other reason than to allow us to be more informed when we complain to Comcast(ic)!

As an aside, isn't it amazing that Comcast never admits or even warns prospective subscribers about regularly inaccurate guide data...

While we're on the subject of inaccurate guide info. It's not just inhd's and hdse, but KRON also. It's never correct.

jeff
Kron ??? That station is the worse, they don't even put guide info in their OTA transmissions. Kron is a station in a world of hurts, they have gotten rid of most of their good news reporters and are dumping alot of their shows. Ever since their lost their NBC rights, they have been on a down hill slide. I would not be surprised if they go under or are bought out again.

Laters,
Mikef5

Kron ??? That station is the worse, they don't even put guide info in their OTA transmissions. Kron is a station in a world of hurts, they have gotten rid of most of their good news reporters and are dumping alot of their shows. Ever since their lost their NBC rights, they have been on a down hill slide. I would not be surprised if they go under or are bought out again.

Laters,
Mikef5

why is kron hd even on comcast?? they have to dump it soon... add something better... someone tell me why it can't be that simple. does kron make any money even putting this on air? too much infrastructure to waste?

anyone else's L&O screwed up again for the second straight nite?????
seems like someone is forgetting to flip the DD5.1 switch...

Yep....two nights in a row. I asked yesterday if anyone here knew if KNTV
was aware of it, but no replies, and it seems that KNTV has no clue about this.
I did notice some audio coming back towards the end of the program, but it still
needs tweaking.

UPDATE: I see now in another local forum that KNTV has been contacted
about this, so they should be aware of it. We are all still awaiting a response
from the station.

As an aside, isn't it amazing that Comcast never admits or even warns prospective subscribers about regularly inaccurate guide data...
That's kind of unfair for a couple of reasons. One, would you as a provider tell a prospective customer that sometimes your guide info is wrong ??? I wouldn't but I would try and fix it. Two, D* and E* have the same problems and they don't tell their customers either.
I'm not a big Comcast lover and when they deserve it I will take them to task. I'm in a 550 MHz system and don't get alot of things the rest of you guys do and I pay the same or more for that than you do but I have been privy to somethings that have shown to me that Comcast is on the right track and for NOW is the best game in town, that could change. So if you ever see me say Adios to Comcast it's time to abandon ship ( sorry, spent to much time in the Navy :D ).

Laters,
Mikef5

Yep....two nights in a row. I asked yesterday if anyone here knew if KNTV
was aware of it, but no replies, and it seems that KNTV has no clue about this.
I did notice some audio coming back towards the end of the program, but it still
needs tweaking.

UPDATE: I see now in another local forum that KNTV has been contacted
about this, so they should be aware of it. We are all still awaiting a response
from the station.
Actually, KNTV does know about it. They were switching over to a new encoder and it's screwing things up. They are suppose to be switching back to the old encoder until they can get the problems fixed. At least that's the story on the Yahoo group.

Laters,
Mikef5

Actually, KNTV does know about it. They were switching over to a new encoder and it's screwing things up. They are suppose to be switching back to the old encoder until they can get the problems fixed. At least that's the story on the Yahoo group.

Laters,
Mikef5

I've seen & heard this. However, I find it interesting that while L&O is messed up, Leno is not -- that was fine. & the same was true the night before. So either they switch back then after letting it slide for the entire evening, or there's something more complicated going on and the "new encoder" is the handy dandy excuse... :rolleyes:

As you say mikef5, whoever takes care of the guide is not our problem, it's Comcast's, and since part of what we pay Comcast is for an accurate Guide, they should assure that it gets updated as needed. I understand there will be occasional glitches...but nearly daily?

:rant on:
There are some of us out here who are paying the same as others and can't complain about an inaccurate guide because we don't even get the channel since we're stuck on an archaic system. Talk about Comcastic!
Sorry :rant off: :) :o

I've seen & heard this. However, I find it interesting that while L&O is messed up, Leno is not -- that was fine. & the same was true the night before. So either they switch back then after letting it slide for the entire evening, or there's something more complicated going on and the "new encoder" is the handy dandy excuse... :rolleyes:
Well, I'm not a broadcast engineer but I was an electrician in the Navy for 20 years and I have found that sometimes electrical equipment is finicky and seems to have a mind of it's own. It's not unusual for it to be fine one moment and screw up to next but I tend to agree that the encoder might be the problem since that is the only thing that they've changed lately.

Laters,
Mikef5

So now that we are temporarily getting uni-hd, what's a good way to get accurate guide data?

Edit: so it looks like you can get guide data here
http://www.universalhd.com/Schedule/

Set the time zone for PT (pacific time)

Woops, saw that Mikef5 already included the link above.

That's kind of unfair for a couple of reasons. One, would you as a provider tell a prospective customer that sometimes your guide info is wrong ??? I wouldn't but I would try and fix it. Two, D* and E* have the same problems and they don't tell their customers either.
Laters,
Mikef5
I agree it was a somewhat unfair statement, but since they seem to be unwilling to "fix" it, it seems like they should at least admit that it is a limitation of the service. When you call or e-mail about it, they seem "surprised" that it's happening. How is that possible? Don't some of the people that work at Comcast subscribe to Comcast?
And their ads are very quick to point out the limitations of a sat dishes during inclement weather...

Kron ??? That station is the worse, they don't even put guide info in their OTA transmissions. Kron is a station in a world of hurts, they have gotten rid of most of their good news reporters and are dumping alot of their shows. Ever since their lost their NBC rights, they have been on a down hill slide. I would not be surprised if they go under or are bought out again.

Laters,
Mikef5

But they did show spirt of yosimite with full bitrate. close ups stationary views of the river flowing very fast showed not one bit of pixelization. That's what full bitrate buys you.

I will watch one of their newscasts if Vicki Liviakis (sp) is on. IMO she's hot.

jeff

But they did show spirt of yosimite with full bitrate. close ups stationary views of the river flowing very fast showed not one bit of pixelization. That's what full bitrate buys you.
jeff

I agree, KRON has some of the finest HD PQ material around, but the
programming is either outdated or of little interest to many of us. And the Guide
for KRON is worthless.

I agree, KRON has some of the finest HD PQ material around, but the
programming is either outdated or of little interest to many of us. And the Guide
for KRON is worthless.
The stuff that is shown on Kron-HD is outdated HDNet and repeats in a loop. Sometimes they show Henry's Garden which is their own production but it seems to be repeats also. IMHO it is a waste of bandwidth especially for us in the 550 MHz systems, for any one that has spare bandwidth, it's nice eye candy but that's about it.

Laters,
Mikef5

We haven't had KRON-HD since they added Disc-HD over a year ago. Haven't missed it at all, "real" HDNet is much better ... ;)

But they did show spirt of yosimite with full bitrate. close ups stationary views of the river flowing very fast showed not one bit of pixelization. That's what full bitrate buys you.

I will watch one of their newscasts if Vicki Liviakis (sp) is on. IMO she's hot.

jeff
Yes, Vicki is one nice looking lady but from what I have heard she is on her way out also. In the last year they have dumped their lead weather man Pete Rielly, Brian Hackney, and Liam Mayclem ( they are both now on CBS, Eye on the Bay), and Wendy Tokuda, who is relegated to her Students Rising Above series which they haven't shown since December. The only good reporters that they have left are Tom Sinkovitz and Pam Moore. That's sad because they use to be the best station for news of the Bay Area, especially for the South Bay, now they are only a shell of what they use to be.

Laters,
Mikef5

Universal-HD is up in my area (Moraga) on 720 yet I never received any kind of message. Law and Order is on right now in HD. So even if you haven't received the message, you still may have it.

Article on IPTV,

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6304926.html?&display=Features&nid=2226&referral=SUPP
Multichannel News: The Cable Industry Book-of-Record

Yeah, I noticed pretty heavy pixelization too, especially during the flashing lights on musical acts. Seems like the encoder couldn't keep up with the changing brightness...

This is pretty typical. I've yet to see a broadcast show where flashing lights haven't hit the encoders hard. This is a given with MPEG encoding, only if we had much higher bandwidth would it work, or they had some time to fine tune the encoder, but, then they'd probably couldn't do it live.

Article on IPTV,

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6304926.html?&display=Features&nid=2226&referral=SUPP
Multichannel News: The Cable Industry Book-of-Record

Almost every article regarding IPTV references the fast channel changing. I don't know...I guess that's just not a huge thing for me. I guess after using a Tivo and Replay in the past with an IR blaster, what we have now seems like light speed.

Not a big deal to me either, but with the way things are going up here, I'm looking at all the alternatives as they come to market.

So has anyone checked the guide today ??? Specifically channel 720. It has changed ( at least in my area) and now shows UHD on channel 720 and reflects what is really showing.

Laters,
Mikef5

Yep, same as it's always been.. :p

720 now has the label 'UHD' (no longer INHD2) and the guide info seems correct.

Whoohoo!! Live Womens Ice Hockey all night baby!!! :D

Anyone happen to have the QAM channel number for UHD?

Thanks in advance!

Anyone happen to have the QAM channel number for UHD?
In my area it is at 105.x/681MHz, but it is encrypted so it probably isn't that useful to you. Basically it really did replace INHD2, so whereever INHD2 was for you before, is where UHD is now.

Not only did they get the guide changed over to UHD today....They also were kind enough to sneak in the Sharks HD game that is going on right now so we dont miss that!!!

2 gold stars for comcast today...

of course they still are 300Mhz short of a full deck out here in Saramilgatos (so -300 stars for that)

Anyone else having speed problems with comcast's internet service? I just got off the phone with their csr who told me that the entire bay area has issues.

My comcast internet is working fine in Mountain View, not that I expect that to be much comfor to you :(.

My comcast internet is working fine in Mountain View, not that I expect that to be much comfort to you :(.

Misery does love company...I'd be happy to hear that others are having problems.

j/k

Truthfully, I'm more interested in whether the csr was bsing me or not.

Not only did they get the guide changed over to UHD today....They also were kind enough to sneak in the Sharks HD game that is going on right now so we dont miss that!!!

2 gold stars for comcast today...

of course they still are 300Mhz short of a full deck out here in Saramilgatos (so -300 stars for that)

YES and DAL-3, SJ-6 Sharks won!

I'm in Mountain View and my internet is erratic.

-- Brandy

Anyone else having speed problems with comcast's internet service? I just got off the phone with their csr who told me that the entire bay area has issues.

Mine is slow, only around 500-600 kbps down.

HSI's been terrible, since around 4-5pm over here.

edit: yay fixed now

Not only did they get the guide changed over to UHD today....

Here in Vallejo, my guide also shows UHD on 720...Unfortunately, when trying to view the channel, the screen says I'm "Not Authorized" for that channel! Called Comcast and they admitted that they are having problems with 720, and promised it would work later....and all that women's hockey I'm missing.... :eek:

Here in Vallejo, my guide also shows UHD on 720...Unfortunately, when trying to view the channel, the screen says I'm "Not Authorized" for that channel! Called Comcast and they admitted that they are having problems with 720, and promised it would work later....and all that women's hockey I'm missing.... :eek:

I am having the same problem. I dialed up Comcast and the guy told me that I should be able to receive UHD on 720 after he refreshes my channel set up. He refreshed the channels but still no 720. I dialed back in and got another guy. After I told him that I was trying to watch Olympic coverage on 720 UHD, he told me that 720 should be Fox Sports West HD. I told him regardless of what should be on channel 720, I am receiving nothing. He basically told me that I would get nothing on 720 and like it.

Is anyone else unable to get UHD on 720? Is anyone getting anything on 720?

I was getting the women's hockey on 720, in hd, all morning. (in Berkeley)

If you are having a problem getting UHD on 720 try a reboot.

Rebooted but still nothing. Maybe this is just local to San Francisco service. Is anyone in San Francisco able to get 720?

Rebooted but still nothing. Maybe this is just local to San Francisco service. Is anyone in San Francisco able to get 720?


I had the same problem last night (friday night) in Fremont. Reboot did not good. Around midnight, I called & got a CSR who said there were issues. But he said, "after I send a signal" and it popped right on.

So keep calling back til you find someone who knows what's up. Things appeared to be working OK.

In Fremont, 725 (usually blank for "special events") is now showing an INHD logo. Nothing else, mind you, just the logo & technopop background. Maybe there's a shift in the making...

Rebooted but still nothing. Maybe this is just local to San Francisco service. Is anyone in San Francisco able to get 720?
Just a quick question. Did you ever get channels 719 or 720 ( INHD1 and INHD2) before and what level of programing do you have ??? I don't remember what level is required to get those channels but if you just have the basic cable package you won't get INHD 1 & 2.

Laters,
Mikef5

Just a quick question. Did you ever get channels 719 or 720 ( INHD1 and INHD2) before and what level of programing do you have ??? I don't remember what level is required to get those channels but if you just have the basic cable package you won't get INHD 1 & 2.

Laters,
Mikef5

I believe I was able to get INHD and INHD2 up until yesterday. I am not certain what package I have but the CSR said that I have the hi-def package and should get the station. I have only had hi-def for a week. I remember clicking through all of the HD channels and never noticing a problem. All of the other HD channels work fine. It is just 720 and, as far as I know, just since last night.

I believe I was able to get INHD and INHD2 up until yesterday. I am not certain what package I have but the CSR said that I have the hi-def package and should get the station. I have only had hi-def for a week. I remember clicking through all of the HD channels and never noticing a problem. All of the other HD channels work fine. It is just 720 and, as far as I know, just since last night.
Check channel 719, do you get that channel ??? That should be INHD 1.

Laters,
Mikef5

I believe I was able to get INHD and INHD2 up until yesterday. I am not certain what package I have but the CSR said that I have the hi-def package and should get the station. I have only had hi-def for a week. I remember clicking through all of the HD channels and never noticing a problem. All of the other HD channels work fine. It is just 720 and, as far as I know, just since last night.
Another thing you could try is to unplug the box from power for about 5 minutes and plug it back in. If that doesn't do it they need to send a hit to the box to reset it. Make sure the box goes off when they send the hit, it will go off and do a start up and should fix the problem. There is another procedure to do a hard drive reset but that is a last resort because it will wipe out everything and start you from scratch.

Laters,
Mikef5

Thanks for all of the information.

I just checked 719. It works fine. I unplugged to cable box for about an hour and plugged it back in, still nothing. I called Comcast back. They reset the box. The CSR told me that she tried a different approach to resetting my box than the first CSR I spoke with but still nothing after two attempts. I will try Comcast again.

How do you do a hard drive reset? The box doesn't have anything in the DVR so I am not worried about starting over.

Thanks for all of the information.

I just checked 719. It works fine. I unplugged to cable box for about an hour and plugged it back in, still nothing. I called Comcast back. They reset the box. The CSR told me that she tried a different approach to resetting my box than the first CSR I spoke with but still nothing after two attempts. I will try Comcast again.

How do you do a hard drive reset? The box doesn't have anything in the DVR so I am not worried about starting over.
What sort of subscription do you have? You need to subscribe to the minimum digital teir to receive INHD, Discovery and ESPN will come with it. If you have just a Basic or Standard sub you will get the locals in HD but none of the other HD channels.

Plus, adding your location to your profile will help others to narrow down any problems you are having.

I have Comcast's "HD package." I get all of the basic HD channels: local, Discovery, ESPN, INHD, and also HBO HD. They all work fine. Two of the three CSRs that I spoke to today verified that I have the right service level that should allow me to get UHD.

The last CSR that I spoke with was stumped and set up an appointment on Tuesday for a tech to come out. Not sure what he is going to do.

I have Comcast's "HD package." I get all of the basic HD channels: local, Discovery, ESPN, INHD, and also HBO HD. They all work fine. Two of the three CSRs that I spoke to today verified that I have the right service level that should allow me to get UHD.

The last CSR that I spoke with was stumped and set up an appointment on Tuesday for a tech to come out. Not sure what he is going to do.

Comcast doesn't offer an "HD Package" like Dish and DirecTV. The rule of thumb is if you pay for the SD version of the channel then you get the HD one as well. With channels like INHD where this isn't an SD counter part, you need something in the digital tier (like Keenan stated).

But he is getting INHD1. That should mean he is entitiled to INHD2 (UHD). I think he should do the boot.

I wonder if there are some splitters on the feed without sufficient bandwidth to pass the frequency needed for the channel he wants. It might also be a low signal situation,

Does it say "Not Authorized" or "This Channel Will Be Available Shortly", if it's the second one it may be a signal strength problem.

I would do the re-boot as well, wipe the STB and let it re-load.

anyone else watching the chinese new years parade on ktvu hd?? looks stunning... nice to see union sq in HD.

I wonder if there are some splitters on the feed without sufficient bandwidth to pass the frequency needed for the channel he wants. It might also be a low signal situation,

INHD1/INHD2 are usually sent on the same RF frequency so if it was low signal it should affect both.

Hey, it was worth a shot, see the thang is, we doesn't know nothin' 'bout them INHD channels up yonder here... :p

For those interested, here's a very good explination of the CableCARD -- what it is, how it works, and the future of it (if there is one).

http://arstechnica.com/guides/other/cablecard.ars

Thanks again, guys. I have the Digital Silver package. The message I receive on channel 720 is "Not Authorized." I really do not think that this is an issue of me trying to view a channel that I do not have account-level access to. Like I said, I can see all of the other HD channels including INHD1, Discovery, ESPN, and HBO. The only one I can not see is UHD (and the premium channels that I do not have a subscription to, like Showtime). Two seperate Comcast CSRs have confirmed that I should be able to see UHD 720 and some problem is preventing me from receiving it.

Sounds like I should do the hard boot reset?

Thanks again, guys. I have the Digital Silver package. The message I receive on channel 720 is "Not Authorized." I really do not think that this is an issue of me trying to view a channel that I do not have account-level access to. Like I said, I can see all of the other HD channels including INHD1, Discovery, ESPN, and HBO. The only one I can not see is UHD (and the premium channels that I do not have a subscription to, like Showtime). Two seperate Comcast CSRs have confirmed that I should be able to see UHD 720 and some problem is preventing me from receiving it.

Sounds like I should do the hard boot reset?

I agree...just make sure you realize you'll lose any saved programs and you'll probably have re-set up all of your season recordings. By the way, I don't think it's a bandwidth issue either. As sfhub said, both INHD's share the same frequency. And if it was a bandwidth problem then you'd most likely see the "This channel will be available shortly" rather then the "Not Authorized" message.

Thanks again, guys. I have the Digital Silver package. The message I receive on channel 720 is "Not Authorized." I really do not think that this is an issue of me trying to view a channel that I do not have account-level access to. Like I said, I can see all of the other HD channels including INHD1, Discovery, ESPN, and HBO. The only one I can not see is UHD (and the premium channels that I do not have a subscription to, like Showtime). Two seperate Comcast CSRs have confirmed that I should be able to see UHD 720 and some problem is preventing me from receiving it.

Sounds like I should do the hard boot reset?
Well, it seems that you should indeed get INHD2 but this is what I would do instead of the hard drive reboot. I would have them send out a tech with a new box and not let him leave until you get all the channels that you are paying for. He'll want to leave but make it clear to him that you want him there to verify that it is working like it should. There is no reason in the world why a customer should have to mess around rebooting and trouble shooting Comcast's equipment, that is their job and is what you are paying them to do. It is my uneducated guess that they have your account screwed up and are blocking that channel, all the filtering of channels is done by their computers and it's easy to mess it up.

Laters,
Mikef5

Here's a good link that explains the box and things that you can do with it, like the HDD reset and the Factory reset, among other things.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_6412

Laters,
Mikef5

Anyone else having speed problems with comcast's internet service? I just got off the phone with their csr who told me that the entire bay area has issues.
I lost internet service for 3 days last week, but it was Mon- Wed, and I thought it was something local to my neigborhood.

Regarding 720... I notice they're showing repeats of the first season of Battlestar Gallactica. Does anyone know if this is really widescreen HD (ie, filmed that way), or just a modifed version of SD? It loos pretty good to me (especially since the SciFi channel signal quality is usually pretty poor), but I can't tell for sure.

Hey Guys,

Sorry if this is off-topic but I'm having trouble with my HD reception and needed any advice I can get.

Last year I bought a Plasma Panasonic TH-42PX25. I lived in San Mateo county then and with comcast, the HD reception was great.

I recently moved to Santa Clara and transferred my Comcast account here. Now with the same TV and same component cables, the picture quality is pretty grainy, far worse than before. Comcast technicians came by and looked at it but had no real answers. Even a signal amplifier did not help.

Any idea what might be going wrong? Would appreciate any help I can get.

-akssriva

Hey Guys,

Sorry if this is off-topic but I'm having trouble with my HD reception and needed any advice I can get.

Last year I bought a Plasma Panasonic TH-42PX25. I lived in San Mateo county then and with comcast, the HD reception was great.

I recently moved to Santa Clara and transferred my Comcast account here. Now with the same TV and same component cables, the picture quality is pretty grainy, far worse than before. Comcast technicians came by and looked at it but had no real answers. Even a signal amplifier did not help.

Any idea what might be going wrong? Would appreciate any help I can get.

-akssriva

You're not off topic...that's exactly what this board is for! :D

Are saying your HD channels are grainy? or your analog SD channels? With digital channels (both HD and SD) they're coming in as strictly 1's and 0's so a bad transmision will usually macroblock as opposed to a "snowy" and "grainy" picture. By macroblocking, I mean you'll see pixelation in the screen, sometimes causing it freeze for a second or two. With analog channels (2 ~ 70), you're subject to the grainy and snowy pictures. So...if you're only seeing the grainy pictures on analog channels then it's probably the product of the tuner in the Comcast STB (in your old place, were you just using either a built-in tuner or non-DVR STB?). If you're using a Comcast DVR now (i.e. the Motorola 6412) then it's probably the built-in analog tuner -- they're known to not be so good.

Regarding 720... I notice they're showing repeats of the first season of Battlestar Gallactica. Does anyone know if this is really widescreen HD (ie, filmed that way), or just a modifed version of SD? It loos pretty good to me (especially since the SciFi channel signal quality is usually pretty poor), but I can't tell for sure.
You should be getting the first half of Season 2, referred to as 2.0, the second half of Season 2, referred to as 2.5 is currently airing on SciFi Channel.

Battlestar Galactica is created in HD video for HDTV with a 1.78:1 format.

You're not off topic...that's exactly what this board is for! :D

Are saying your HD channels are grainy? or your analog SD channels? With digital channels (both HD and SD) they're coming in as strictly 1's and 0's so a bad transmision will usually macroblock as opposed to a "snowy" and "grainy" picture. By macroblocking, I mean you'll see pixelation in the screen, sometimes causing it freeze for a second or two. With analog channels (2 ~ 70), you're subject to the grainy and snowy pictures. So...if you're only seeing the grainy pictures on analog channels then it's probably the product of the tuner in the Comcast STB (in your old place, were you just using either a built-in tuner or non-DVR STB?). If you're using a Comcast DVR now (i.e. the Motorola 6412) then it's probably the built-in analog tuner -- they're known to not be so good.


Hey, thanks for the quick response. Man, this forum is good!! :)

The HD channels are pretty grainy. I don't see the screen freezing, just that the HD quality is pretty snowy and not anywhere close to what it was in my old apartment 20 miles away. The analog channels are similar to before, but can't say for sure because I don't really watch them.

It might be the COMCAST tuner but I've had them replace it twice without any improvement. Wondering if changing the component cables will help but I was using the same ones before.

It might be the COMCAST tuner but I've had them replace it twice without any improvement. Wondering if changing the component cables will help but I was using the same ones before.

Try swiveling the TV. I would bet that your set is oriented differently to the Earth's magnetic field and it's affecting the analog signal between your cable box and the back of the television.

K

Hey, thanks for the quick response. Man, this forum is good!! :)

The HD channels are pretty grainy. I don't see the screen freezing, just that the HD quality is pretty snowy and not anywhere close to what it was in my old apartment 20 miles away. The analog channels are similar to before, but can't say for sure because I don't really watch them.

It might be the COMCAST tuner but I've had them replace it twice without any improvement. Wondering if changing the component cables will help but I was using the same ones before.I live in Santa Clara and the HD channels are crystal clear. No way they can be grainy unless it is broadcast grainy to begin with. I don't think the tuner can add grain to a digital channel like HD. I also watch HD from my PC using a HD tuner with QAM and also get crystal clear HD channels.

I live in Santa Clara and the HD channels are crystal clear. No way they can be grainy unless it is broadcast grainy to begin with. I don't think the tuner can add grain to a digital channel like HD. I also watch HD from my PC using a HD tuner with QAM and also get crystal clear HD channels.


I am sure it has nothing to do with Santa Clara. I really suspect it's the feed/broadcast in my apt complex as changing tuners has not helped. Just don't know what to do about it. Comcast claims I might be 'too far' from the nearest broadcast center. Don't know if that makes any sense.

Would switching to dish help? :confused:

I am sure it has nothing to do with Santa Clara. I really suspect it's the feed/broadcast in my apt complex as changing tuners has not helped. Just don't know what to do about it. Comcast claims I might be 'too far' from the nearest broadcast center. Don't know if that makes any sense.

Would switching to dish help? :confused:

What comcast set-top box do you have? Are you sure the box's output is set to 1080i or 720p?

anyone else watching the chinese new years parade on ktvu hd?? looks stunning... nice to see union sq in HD.
Yes, the parade looked great on 702!

On 703 was the Olympics which looks MUCH better than last year.

Also noticed that 720 is now "UHD" - and it looked great as well. But is this just during the Olympics, or is this a permanent change? I'm guessing it's temporary and they will keep putting local sports (FSN) games on 720? (Sharks/Warriors/A's/Giants..)

Yes, the parade looked great on 702!

On 703 was the Olympics which looks MUCH better than last year.

Also noticed that 720 is now "UHD" - and it looked great as well. But is this just during the Olympics, or is this a permanent change? I'm guessing it's temporary and they will keep putting local sports (FSN) games on 720? (Sharks/Warriors/A's/Giants..)

as far as we know, UHD is temp for the duration of the olympics. i saw the guide today and noticed that 719 is carrying the warriors game 2nite.

The Warriors game on 719 is an NBATV game, but since it's also on FSN in SD it will probably get blacked out in the Bay Area. They did show a sharks game on Friday after the switch to UHD, so it looks like they will still have FSN games on 720.

You should be getting the first half of Season 2, referred to as 2.0, the second half of Season 2, referred to as 2.5 is currently airing on SciFi Channel.
Yes, I enjoy the series quite a bit, but the quality of the video on the SciFi channel sucks in my area. There's a lot of noise in the signal resulting in a grainy picture.

Battlestar Galactica is created in HD video for HDTV with a 1.78:1 format.
Thanks. I thought so, but it was hard to tell. Too bad we can't get the SciFi feed in Hi Def on 720 for the new episodes.

Yes, I enjoy the series quite a bit, but the quality of the video on the SciFi channel sucks in my area. There's a lot of noise in the signal resulting in a grainy picture.


Thanks. I thought so, but it was hard to tell. Too bad we can't get the SciFi feed in Hi Def on 720 for the new episodes.
Even though it's digital in Santa Rosa, the PQ is bad here as well. I have noticed on a couple of evenings that KTVU has been running either Stargate SG1 or Atlantis, don't remember which, but it looks very good on KTVU-702, far, far, better than any broadcast on SciFi. I'm guessing the KTVU showings are from the HD source material and letterboxed for the 4x3 frame(the resulting image is pillarboxed and letterboxed), but the few times I've caught it, it looks pretty damn good, even when zoomed to 16x9.

The UHD feed could look even better than it does if NBC/UNI did not cram practically every cable channel they have onto one transponder spot on the sat they use.

The Warriors game on 719 is an NBATV game, but since it's also on FSN in SD it will probably get blacked out in the Bay Area. They did show a sharks game on Friday after the switch to UHD, so it looks like they will still have FSN games on 720.

blacked out from an HD game we should be seeing anyway!! probably even have the same commentators doing the game! horrible. horrible. lets hope comcast recognizes the need for a special exemption.

if 720 doesn't carry it and 719 is blacked out... this has to be the greatest travesty in the history of mankind.

if 720 doesn't carry it and 719 is blacked out... this has to be the greatest travesty in the history of mankind.
I DO hope you had your tongue firmly planted in your cheek as you were writing that... :rolleyes:

....this has to be the greatest travesty in the history of mankind.Whoa! Do you have any idea how silly that sounds? :rolleyes:

Whoa! Do you have any idea how silly that sounds? :rolleyes:

no.

god loves warriors remember??

if there is no warriors game in HD tonight, there might be some kind of thunderstorm tonight.

and if there isn't... then god turned into a clippers fan. oh boy.

no.

god loves warriors remember??

if there is no warriors game in HD tonight, there might be some kind of thunderstorm tonight.

and if there isn't... then god turned into a clippers fan. oh boy.
Remember grasshopper:
Sports is E-N-T-E-R-T-A-I-N-M-E-N-T, and nothing more. It's not life or death, and it certainly isn't worth wringing your hands over.

Also, I doubt if Ron Artest (or ANY of the Warriors) are worried whether you are going to see them in HD tonight...

Yes I don't know what they will do if both Olympics are on UHD and an FSN game is in HD. Probably show Olympics, but who knows? The NBA-Net game will almost certainly be blacked out though. It doesn't matter if it's actually showing on FSN or not (though it still should be, on the SD channel) it's a rights issue that they have no control over. They cannot show a game in it's local market, period.

By the way, does Universal have a SD channel that we don't get or something? I was looking at the schedule... I can't imagine they would create an all-HD channel and then fill it up with........ Knight Rider and The Equalizer.....? :D

Remember grasshopper:
Sports is E-N-T-E-R-T-A-I-N-M-E-N-T, and nothing more. It's not life or death, and it certainly isn't worth wringing your hands over.

Also, I doubt if Ron Artest (or ANY of the Warriors) are worried whether you are going to see them in HD tonight...

i doubt ron artest is on the warriors... anyway i'm not making fun of you, of course i'm exaggerating, but i've been complaining about this exact scenario ever since mike announced uhd was gonna be on 720. however, uhd was pre-empted during the last sharks game so i'm fairly confident tonight will be no different. then again, that's too logical to happen.

Yes I don't know what they will do if both Olympics are on UHD and an FSN game is in HD. Probably show Olympics, but who knows? The NBA-Net game will almost certainly be blacked out though. It doesn't matter if it's actually showing on FSN or not (though it still should be, on the SD channel) it's a rights issue that they have no control over. They cannot show a game in it's local market, period.

By the way, does Universal have a SD channel that we don't get or something? I was looking at the schedule... I can't imagine they would create an all-HD channel and then fill it up with........ Knight Rider and The Equalizer.....? :D
Universal-HD is a stand alone channel, no SD counterpart,

An odd entry in the HD market is Universal HD. The channel was launched as Bravo HD in 2004. But with no Bravo series actually shot in high definition, NBC Universal changed the network's name to Universal HD by year's end.

"Originally, we launched it to help to get our share of the HD space as a placeholder and as a marketing tool to help get Bravo launched in more homes," said Jeff Gaspin, president of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment. "Then when we merged with Universal we realized they had a wealth of more content to offer."

Today the network has a compilation of upconverted Universal titles such as "Knight Rider" and "The Equalizer," alongside two entries from the NBCU cable networks group-Sci Fi's "Battlestar Galactica" and USA's "Monk."



The above from the below post,

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7125682#post7125682
Hot Off The Press! The Latest Television News and Info - AVS Forum

OK I'm getting nothing on 719. The guide says Grizzlies at Warriors but depending on which channel I switched from, I get a frozen image of that last channel.

Maybe because earlier, it was showing NBA TV and somehow thinks it should be blacked out locally?

719 has the warriors game but it is blacked out. INHD1 moved to 725. 720 is still UHD.

Just as well, they're stinking up the joint.

Definitely switching as soon as 24 comes on.

*** Warning - Soap Box Rant ***

Just a recap:
- The Warriors are supposed to be on INHD2, but instead there is a dog show. Viewers not paying attention to the 'gift' of UHD, will probably be a bit confused about seeing a dog show instead of the Warriors.
- But wait, good news, INHD1 says it is showing the Warriors. Viewers not paying attention may not understand that the blacked out picture is due to contract rights and all sorts of other sillyiness.

While I don't care too much about the Warriors, I continue to be amazed by how difficult and arcane the consumer electronics industry makes the world with their bickering and content protection.

Add to this the HDMI/HDCP mess, and the competing HD formats for DVD and it looks like it won't stop soon.

Time for a Nordstrom's approach. Do what the customer wants and expects. How novel! But not likely with the Japanese brands continuing to have format wars, and the Hollywood video moguls continuing to rabidly 'protect' their video content.

*** Soap Box/Rant off ***

*** Warning - Soap Box Rant ***

Just a recap:
- The Warriors are supposed to be on INHD2, but instead there is a dog show. Viewers not paying attention to the 'gift' of UHD, will probably be a bit confused about seeing a dog show instead of the Warriors.
- But wait, good news, INHD1 says it is showing the Warriors. Viewers not paying attention may not understand that the blacked out picture is due to contract rights and all sorts of other sillyiness.

While I don't care too much about the Warriors, I continue to be amazed by how difficult and arcane the consumer electronics industry makes the world with their bickering and content protection.

Add to this the HDMI/HDCP mess, and the competing HD formats for DVD and it looks like it won't stop soon.

Time for a Nordstrom's approach. Do what the customer wants and expects. How novel! But not likely with the Japanese brands continuing to have format wars, and the Hollywood video moguls continuing to rabidly 'protect' their video content.

*** Soap Box/Rant off ***

i'm so happy i'm not the only one that feels slighted...

comcast messed up... no one in the bay area actually got to see the warriors game in hd... no one. tell me why i shouldn't feel strongly about this. greatest travesty ever.

no one in the bay area actually got to see the warriors game in hd... no one. tell me why i shouldn't feel strongly about this. greatest travesty ever.
I haven't gotten to see a Warriors game in HD all season.

I haven't gotten to see a Warriors game in HD all season.
Me either, or the A's, or the Giants, or the Sharks...but thanks to DirecTV I know the Yankees like the back of my hand.

THe fact that the warriors game in HD was blacked out has nothing to do with HD thats irrelevant, It is that FSN has exclusive local rights to the warriors and get to black out the national broadcast as part of that.

now ofcourse nothing stopped them from broadcasting there own coverage in HD

Me either, or the A's, or the Giants, or the Sharks...but thanks to DirecTV I know the Yankees like the back of my hand.

that's pretty disgusting.

i hate everything east coast, especially that thing.

i'm so happy i'm not the only one that feels slighted...

comcast messed up... no one in the bay area actually got to see the warriors game in hd... no one. tell me why i shouldn't feel strongly about this. greatest travesty ever.
Just to be clear on this ... Comcast had NOTHING to do with the game not being shown, that was Fox Sports Net that had it blacked out. If you looked at the link I gave for the Warriors schedule on FSN you would've seen there was no game scheduled to be shown in HD for that day. Bash Comcast when they deserve it but realize it's not ALWAYS Comcast that's at fault.

Laters,
Mikef5

Just to be clear on this ... Comcast had NOTHING to do with the game not being shown, that was Fox Sports Net that had it blacked out. If you looked at the link I gave for the Warriors schedule on FSN you would've seen there was no game scheduled to be shown in HD for that day. Bash Comcast when they deserve it but realize it's not ALWAYS Comcast that's at fault.

Laters,
Mikef5

who the heck produced the nbatv feed last night? must have been our own FSN bay area. i doubt it came from memphis. comcast decided to preempt 720 for uhd. they have preempted their preempted channel for sharks games. they had some control over that. now we can argue whether the game last night was on FSN bay area HD, but cmon now, who really knows, we certainly didn't get to see the NBA tv feed.

No... The game last night was produced by -both- NBATV, for their own channel, -and- FSN. Yes there were 2 broadcast teams there covering the game. Heck there was probably 3, one for the visiting team's local market too. This is actually very common.

NBATV can't broadcast a game in that team's local market, because FSN has those rights (in the Bay Area, in the visiting team's market there's probably someone else - and NBATV couldn't show the game there either!) HD or not HD doesn't matter. I.e. the game last night was on FSN channel 40, and they expect you to switch over to that channel if you want to watch the game. They don't care about HDTV, it's still a small percentage of the market (~10%) This has everything to do with sports broadcasting rights, not really Comcast.

Get used to it, happens ALL the time. Yes it sucks, no there's nothing anyone can do about it.

Did FSN blackout the SD broadcast? If not, why would they blackout the HD broadcast? Sometimes the blackouts are caused by contract restrictions. Sometimes the blackouts are caused by mistakes on FSN or Comcast's part. Without insight into what was supposed to happen and who blacked out, it is hard to tell where the fault lies. The NBATV broadcast was rebroadcast this morning BTW.

I was always under the impression that we would NEVER see the Warriors, Giants, or A's on one of the national HD broadcasts on INHD 719. I thought they were all blacked out here. Is this really news to a lot of people? If you want to see the Warriors, Giants, A's (and Sharks too) in HD, then check the HD schedules on the FSN website. As always, those games are on 720.

who the heck produced the nbatv feed last night? must have been our own FSN bay area. i doubt it came from memphis. comcast decided to preempt 720 for uhd. they have preempted their preempted channel for sharks games. they had some control over that. now we can argue whether the game last night was on FSN bay area HD, but cmon now, who really knows, we certainly didn't get to see the NBA tv feed.
I don't know how much clearer I can make this. Fox Sports Net has the broadcast rights to show local games, Warriors, Sharks, Giants and some of the A's games. If they are showing the games in SD or HD no one else can show it unless they give them those rights, that's just a fact of the business. Heck, the Raiders do it all the time. If the game is not sold out locally they black the game out locally, even if FSN had it scheduled to be shown. The game in question was shown in SD on channel 40, FSN, and it was not on their schedule to be broadcasted in HD, so they have the local rights to show the game how ever they want to and block all other broadcasts of that game. Bitch at FSN, that's who prevented showing the game locally by another broadcaster. One way to put this to rest is for you guys to email FSN and ask them their policies in regard to local blackout. I've been down that road ( Giants games ) and I know what they're going to tell you.

Laters,
Mikef5

No... The game last night was produced by -both- NBATV, for their own channel, -and- FSN. Yes there were 2 broadcast teams there covering the game. Heck there was probably 3, one for the visiting team's local market too. This is actually very common.

NBATV can't broadcast a game in that team's local market, because FSN has those rights (in the Bay Area, in the visiting team's market there's probably someone else - and NBATV couldn't show the game there either!) HD or not HD doesn't matter. I.e. the game last night was on FSN channel 40, and they expect you to switch over to that channel if you want to watch the game. They don't care about HDTV, it's still a small percentage of the market (~10%) This has everything to do with sports broadcasting rights, not really Comcast.

Get used to it, happens ALL the time. Yes it sucks, no there's nothing anyone can do about it.

of all the nba tv hd games i've seen, they've always used the same feeds as the local broadcasts. i know because sometimes i'll hear "coming up on WGN or Comcast Sports". now if that's true, then FSN bay area provided the HD feed for NBATV and chose not to show it in the bay area.

mike, i'll stop b*tchin about comcast, but we should've seen that HD feed from our local provider, that was our local team. someone decided we shouldn't. ba$tard. it looked like quite a game from the SPORTSCENTER highlights... sigh.

of all the nba tv hd games i've seen, they've always used the same feeds as the local broadcasts. i know because sometimes i'll hear "coming up on WGN or Comcast Sports". now if that's true, then FSN bay area provided the HD feed for NBATV and chose not to show it in the bay area.

mike, i'll stop b*tchin about comcast, but we should've seen that HD feed from our local provider, that was our local team. someone decided we shouldn't. ba$tard. it looked like quite a game from the SPORTSCENTER highlights... sigh.
Nikeykid,
Don't stop bitching at Comcast, that was not my intention, just bitch at them when they are at fault. I'll even help :D

Laters,
Mikef5

FSNBA has posted 2006 schedules for the A's & Giants--linked from http://fsnbayarea.com/Teams.jsp. But no HD schedules, as of yet.

I've had Comcast Broadband for years and did have their HD when they first offered it, but killed the HD feed when my XBR400 poo'd itself 2 years ago. I kept BASIC TV, as they "bundle" the cost into Broadband service. (Wish the PUC would see "bundling" for what it is) - I'm in the South Bay, btw.

Anyway, I just got a Sony KDSR-50XBR1 SXRD set and unplugged my broadband cable and plugged in the TV to check out if HD channels were there along with the basic SD ones. It appears that they are.

My question is, is there a special kind of splitter specification I need to pay attention to if I drop over to RatShack or Fry's to buy a coax 1->2 splitter so I can get broadband Internet access AND HD TV channels? Is there a "filter" needed to keep each separate?

Thanks,
Tim

p.s. Sorry to interrupt the Warriors, et all thread :)

. . . I kept BASIC TV, as they "bundle" the cost into Broadband service. (Wish the PUC would see "bundling" for what it is) ....

What do you mean by "bundle"? Do yo mean that there is a discount for ordering both? That if you get broadband service, you get basic cable included?

- Phil Klein

No you don't GET both, you MUST buy both. It's a bundle -- They don't call it that, of course, since "bundling" is illegal, but in fact that's what it is. -- I was just being a bit bitchy because the PUC let's them get away with it. <sigh>

My question is, is there a special kind of splitter specification I need to pay attention to if I drop over to RatShack or Fry's to buy a coax 1->2 splitter so I can get broadband Internet access AND HD TV channels? Is there a "filter" needed to keep each separate?

Get a 5 to 1000 MHz splitter. Two way would be -3.5 db down or better.

Don't spend $15 on a 1 lb monster gold plated splitter. $5 should be average.

There's no filter that you need.

You might even get a splitter and jumper at any C service center.

Anyone else watch "Rodney" tonight and have the sound messed up for the first 10 - 15 minutes? Only seemed to be coming through on 1 or 2 channels.

I had a lot of audio dropouts on House tonight, if Comcast is screwing around again it would sure be F'ing nice if they would let us know, of course, that wouldn't be Comcastic...

(maybe I should have taken some LSD like House, then I could have seen the audio.. :D )

No you don't GET both, you MUST buy both. It's a bundle -- They don't call it that . . . <sigh>

So you are saying that if I want to get comcast broadband internet, I MUST buy basic cable or more? Right now I have a premium cable and internet (and digital phone) but I was thinking of cutting back on cable, maybe even dropping it.

- Phil

So you are saying that if I want to get comcast broadband internet, I MUST buy basic cable or more? Right now I have a premium cable and internet (and digital phone) but I was thinking of cutting back on cable, maybe even dropping it.

- Phil
You don't need to buy cable but you will get a discount ($5/mo ?) on the internet if you do.

Just a quick follow up to the problem I was having a page or two back with receiving channel 720. I performed the HDD reset on my cable box and waited an hour or so and still was unable to receive 720. However, the next day I checked again and it worked. Not sure if it was the reset or if it just started coming in but, regardless, it works now. Thanks for all of the information.

re: So you are saying that if I want to get comcast broadband internet, I MUST buy basic cable or more?

The don't SAY it that way, because they'd have the PUC all over them, but if you elect to ONLY get Broadband service you'll pay exactly the same as if you had both broadband and basic cable TV service.

It's forced bundling, and illegal, but because they LET you order just broadband, even though the cost of basic TV is included, they are off the hook!

You'll save money by backing off premium and phone service, but you'll never be able to get lower than broadband+basic cable.

re: You might even get a splitter and jumper at any C service center.

Just an update on getting a splitter. I tried calling the local C office but could only find the 800#. Speaking to custsupp they told me an "installation kit" with splitter, and two cables would cost me $10 but they couldn't tell me if my local office had any in stock.

Took a chance and went to the local office. No such thing as an "installation kit" but the nice lady gave me a splitter and two cables for $0. Thank YOU!

re: You might even get a splitter and jumper at any C service center.

Just an update on getting a splitter. I tried calling the local C office but could only find the 800#. Speaking to custsupp they told me an "installation kit" with splitter, and two cables would cost me $10 but they couldn't tell me if my local office had any in stock.

Took a chance and went to the local office. No such thing as an "installation kit" but the nice lady gave me a splitter and two cables for $0. Thank YOU!
Take a look at the splitter they gave you and make sure it's got a decent loss level printed on it somewhere. A good 2-way splitter should have a max -3.5dB loss at each output. If it doesn't have it stated, then it's probably not good quality and you may want to buy one. Good ones cost $10 or less.

Take a look at the splitter they gave you and make sure it's got a decent loss level printed on it somewhere. A good 2-way splitter should have a max -3.5dB loss at each output. If it doesn't have it stated, then it's probably not good quality and you may want to buy one. Good ones cost $10 or less.
In my experience the Comcast splitters and RG6 cables are quite decent. They use the Thomas & Betts compression connectors on the RG6 cables.

KGO fired up their HD helo today on tonights news broadcast, they've been flooding the broadcast with a lot of bay area shots, looks purdy dang good. :)

re: So you are saying that if I want to get comcast broadband internet, I MUST buy basic cable or more?

The don't SAY it that way, because they'd have the PUC all over them, but if you elect to ONLY get Broadband service you'll pay exactly the same as if you had both broadband and basic cable TV service.

It's forced bundling, and illegal, but because they LET you order just broadband, even though the cost of basic TV is included, they are off the hook!

You'll save money by backing off premium and phone service, but you'll never be able to get lower than broadband+basic cable.

Get your facts straight dude! The PUC has no authority over Comcast or any cable provider. Also bundling is not illegal if so then AT&T would be in violation as well since you have to get their phone service to get DSL with them.

Also bundling is not illegal if so then AT&T would be in violation as well since you have to get their phone service to get DSL with them.
I believe naked DSL is to become available, if not already, there was a fairly recent ruling on this, that the telco has to provide DSL without being bundled with any other service.

re: The PUC has no authority over Comcast or any cable provider...

Gee Bmark,

That will be welcome news to the telecomunications division of the PUC; less work for them. Look up a few past decisions of that august body and then tell me they have no authority. Or maybe there is a fine point of law I'm missing.

As for VOIP, etc. I grant that changes may have taken place since the issue of "bundling" of ISP service and Cable TV was a big deal a while back.

Maybe Comcast WILL let you buy just ISP service without the hidden cost of Basic Cable. I've been wrong one or twice in my life.

T

I believe the CA PUC has some very limited authority over cable with regards to safety and pole issues, but that's about it, the FCC and local governments have control over everything else.

Also bundling is not illegal if so then AT&T would be in violation as well since you have to get their phone service to get DSL with them.

I was just going to ask the same thing. As was driving home there was a commercial for AT&T/SBC and their DSL/telephone bundle. I thought it may be some limitation only for cable companies but I believe Astound (only offered in Walnut Creek in Bay Area) has a bundle for cable, Internet, and telephone.

Tboyd, do you have a link to a gov't doc or somewhere that says bundling is illegal?

darn i missed the sky 7 HD debut, think it'll be on at 11 newscast?? probably too dark to see anything huh?

darn i missed the sky 7 HD debut, think it'll be on at 11 newscast?? probably too dark to see anything huh?
It was dark during the 6pm broadcast, the shots of the city were fantastic.

It was dark during the 6pm broadcast, the shots of the city were fantastic.

awesome maybe i'll start regularly watching the local news again. hd studio has to be next :) how could a picturesque city like our own be void of an HD news station for this long??

i posted these in OTA.
http://img314.imageshack.us/img314/4458/kjhkjh9pm.th.jpg (http://img314.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kjhkjh9pm.jpg)http://img314.imageshack.us/img314/897/cgf7ue.th.jpg (http://img314.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cgf7ue.jpg)http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/637/iolkl9qj.th.jpg (http://img530.imageshack.us/my.php?image=iolkl9qj.jpg)http://img494.imageshack.us/img494/1791/kjl9rk.th.jpg (http://img494.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kjl9rk.jpg)

the evening shots looked nice. i think shots during the 11am broadcast would look great though, provided the sun's out :).

i vaguely remember reading kpix was planning studio HD cameras this year too?

just saw the night shots... lots of lights... can't wait to see it during the day

Has anyone else's 6412 developed its own decision making ability? Over the past couple of weeks, my box decided with no input from either myself or my wife to record random programs.

Has anyone seen or heard of this?

Thanks

the machines are taking over!!! maybe hard reset?

Does the 6412 have a TiVo-like "Suggestions" recording feature? Don't think so but maybe they put it in?

Maybe some in your household has been scrolling thru the guide and inadvertently hitting the record button?

Has anyone else's 6412 developed its own decision making ability? Over the past couple of weeks, my box decided with no input from either myself or my wife to record random programs.

Has anyone seen or heard of this?

Thanks
I would really worry if it ever said " Hasta La Vista baby", that's your que to run for the hills.
On a serious note it might be recording a series recording that you set up but has changed some how. I had a series recording for Call for Help on G4 but they again cancelled the show so now it was recording what's in it's place now.

Laters,
Mikef5

Anyone notice that last nights 11 PM news on KGO had studio shots in 3:2 as opposed to the usual 4:3 aspect ratio?

Anyone notice that last nights 11 PM news on KGO had studio shots in 3:2 as opposed to the usual 4:3 aspect ratio?
At least they are getting closer to 16:9 ;-)

peter

Some interesting info on the Comcast - Tivo set top box.....

http://thomashawk.com/2006/02/lunching-with-tivos-e-stephen-mack.html

Seems the deal was not shelved as first reported and may come sooner than later.

Laters,
Mikef5

Anyone notice that last nights 11 PM news on KGO had studio shots in 3:2 as opposed to the usual 4:3 aspect ratio?

Their shot has looked like this on my Comcast 6412 for the last few days. That includes all of their non-HD programming.

I believe naked DSL is to become available, if not already, there was a fairly recent ruling on this, that the telco has to provide DSL without being bundled with any other service.

Actually the FCC has stated they are not forcing phone providers to offer naked dsl. Here is the article back in March 2005. Even if they did make it so they would have to offer it, the price would still be higher than regular dsl and defeat the purpose of having it standalone anyhow.

http://news.com.com/FCC+unplugs+states+rules+on++naked+DSL/2100-1034_3-5637790.html

re: The PUC has no authority over Comcast or any cable provider...

Gee Bmark,

That will be welcome news to the telecomunications division of the PUC; less work for them. Look up a few past decisions of that august body and then tell me they have no authority. Or maybe there is a fine point of law I'm missing.

As for VOIP, etc. I grant that changes may have taken place since the issue of "bundling" of ISP service and Cable TV was a big deal a while back.

Maybe Comcast WILL let you buy just ISP service without the hidden cost of Basic Cable. I've been wrong one or twice in my life.

T

PUC only has rulings over poles and safety. The FCC and local franchise authorities control most of what Comcast can and can't do. I can tell you this every major telecommunications company is going to bundle services because the more services the customers have under them the better chance they have of retaining them long-term.

Actually the FCC has stated they are not forcing phone providers to offer naked dsl. Here is the article back in March 2005. Even if they did make it so they would have to offer it, the price would still be higher than regular dsl and defeat the purpose of having it standalone anyhow.

http://news.com.com/FCC+unplugs+states+rules+on++naked+DSL/2100-1034_3-5637790.html
Yes, I did some more research and discovered that as well, thanks.

With recent Univ HD on 720, what's happening to INHD2 ? Right now 725 shows an INHD logo, that's it. Does anyone getting INHD2 now ?

TNT-HD, I guess it's still a waiting game ?

I've always had issues recording HD shows onto my PC, and I've assumed it was because of 5C encoding in my area. I'm using my Sharp LC37D5U built in QAM tuner to stream to my PC by the way.

I could only get NBC and KRON HD to stream and copy, the other broadcast channels, FOX, CBS, ABC, etc.... I could never copy to my PC.

So the other day, I decided to record a segment of the olympics on NBC to my PC..... now that won't work either! Is anyone else in the Fremont area experiencing this? Is comcast injecting 5C flags on almost ALL the broadcast channels now?

Is anybody experiencing strange small red and green squares on all channels (analog and digital)? I'm using a 6412 PIII box connected to a Sony SXD. Never seen this in the 1+ month that I've had the service.

Is anybody experiencing strange small red and green squares on all channels (analog and digital)? I'm using a 6412 PIII box connected to a Sony SXD. Never seen this in the 1+ month that I've had the service.

same here. i turned it off an hour ago.

Is anybody experiencing strange small red and green squares on all channels (analog and digital)? I'm using a 6412 PIII box connected to a Sony SXD. Never seen this in the 1+ month that I've had the service.


Yes, this is a sometime occurrence. In fact, I got it just a 1/2 hour ago, or so. The only way to remedy is to depower the 6412. Not just turn it off, but unplug it.

re: You might even get a splitter and jumper at any C service center.

Just an update on getting a splitter. I tried calling the local C office but could only find the 800#. Speaking to custsupp they told me an "installation kit" with splitter, and two cables would cost me $10 but they couldn't tell me if my local office had any in stock.

Took a chance and went to the local office. No such thing as an "installation kit" but the nice lady gave me a splitter and two cables for $0. Thank YOU!

Yesssss! It charms me when I stick my neck out and not get it broken.

Anyone seeing the old TV Guide menu on DCT51000 or 6200s? Just a wild question - since I've seen two this week . .

Yes, this is a sometime occurrence. In fact, I got it just a 1/2 hour ago, or so. The only way to remedy is to depower the 6412. Not just turn it off, but unplug it.
Well, it went away on its own just after I posted. Must've been something at the Comcast head end.

I've always had issues recording HD shows onto my PC, and I've assumed it was because of 5C encoding in my area. I'm using my Sharp LC37D5U built in QAM tuner to stream to my PC by the way.

I could only get NBC and KRON HD to stream and copy, the other broadcast channels, FOX, CBS, ABC, etc.... I could never copy to my PC.

So the other day, I decided to record a segment of the olympics on NBC to my PC..... now that won't work either! Is anyone else in the Fremont area experiencing this? Is comcast injecting 5C flags on almost ALL the broadcast channels now?

The first thing to do is check to see if 5c is turned on. Tune to a channel which you belive may have 5c and go to the Moto's diagnostics.

The first thing to do is check to see if 5c is turned on. Tune to a channel which you belive may have 5c and go to the Moto's diagnostics.
I don't use a STB, I'm using my TVs QAM tuner (Sharp LC37D5U). I don't believe there is a menu option on my TV to show the 5C status. Anyone else in Fremont that can check this for me?

I don't use a STB, I'm using my TVs QAM tuner (Sharp LC37D5U). I don't believe there is a menu option on my TV to show the 5C status. Anyone else in Fremont that can check this for me?

Duh...sorry...you said that in the original post. Ignore me.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/6MTyaxri5Yudbr/Reform-Video-Franchising-Now.xhtml

It looks like a group of sentors are calling on the goverment to reform the ideas behind "video franchising" -- something that is already way out date. While the article isn't that interesting, one part caught my eye:

"Just weeks following passage of a bill last summer that authorized Texas to grant statewide video franchises, Verizon introduced its FiOS TV service in Keller, Texas, offering 180 video and music channels for US$43.95 a month, or a 35-channel plan for $12.95 a month. In response, the local cable company, Charter Communications, dropped its prices, offering a package of 240 channels and fast Internet service for $50 a month."

Not really a revalation...but it's it's amazing that some people still don't realize that competition is GOOD for the customers.

Anyone know what happened to Channel 720, InHD2? It's still listed on the TIVO lineup along with the new UHD or whatever it's called. It's strange, there are now two Channel 720's but the UHD is the only one I seem to receive. That's one of the best HD channels in the lineup. Why would Comcast pull it?

Anyone know what happened to Channel 720, InHD2? It's still listed on the TIVO lineup along with the new UHD or whatever it's called. It's strange, there are now two Channel 720's but the UHD is the only one I seem to receive. That's one of the best HD channels in the lineup. Why would Comcast pull it?


They pulled InHD2 temporarily to make room for Universal HD since UHD has some of the Olympic coverage in HD . InHD2 should return after the Olympics (and then they'll make room for UHD full Time on another channel)

Tried this in the remote forum with no luck, maybe better here...

So I'm on my third Moto6412 that has had to be swapped out for various reasons, but all share one common problem...the reaction time to commands from the remote control is excruciatingly slow sometimes. It can take up to 30 seconds between when I press a button and when the action is taken.

It seems like other people would be having this problem, but I can't seem to find any threads...anyone else?

And how do I get rid of it? Its annoying as all get out.

Thanks,
Ray

Tried this in the remote forum with no luck, maybe better here...

So I'm on my third Moto6412 that has had to be swapped out for various reasons, but all share one common problem...the reaction time to commands from the remote control is excruciatingly slow sometimes. It can take up to 30 seconds between when I press a button and when the action is taken.

It seems like other people would be having this problem, but I can't seem to find any threads...anyone else?

And how do I get rid of it? Its annoying as all get out.

Thanks,
Ray

This is a known (and very annyoying) issue with all versions of the 6412. It's not a remote problem but rather a problem with the box and how it receives the IR commands. A power-cycle of the box should temporarily relieve the problem but it usually rears its ugly head a few weeks later.

Is comcast lowering the bitrate of those HD broadcast programs, or the stations themselves are lowering it? Recently I've seen significantly smaller sizes of HD recordings than I used to. For example, last night's Desperate Housewives is only 5.3GB and Grey's Anatomy is only 4.9GB. They used to be in 7-8GB range.