San Francisco, CA - Comcast [Text View] - Page 46

Mikef5

08-03-06, 12:29 PM

Mikef5,

I agree to a point...but we're customers of Comcast, not TVGuide...Comcast is ultimately responsible for ensuring the guide data they supply to (us) their customers is accurate (since we are paying them for it)...The complaint should be made to comcast and they should fix the problem...they do have control over it since they own the contract with TVguide (either get their subcontractor to fix it or replace them with somebody else...or just ignore the customer complaints ;)

-Steve
Steve,

I think we both agree that Comcast should take care of this problem, read my last sentence in my reply to CGW, " That being said it would behove Comcast to insure that the data that is being supplied to them is accurate and up to date and if it's not to insure the matter is addressed at the appropriate level so it doesn't happen again."
The point I was trying to make is Comcast doesn't do the guide data for their program guide, Tvguide provides that data, what Comcast needs to do is to insure that the data is accurate and up to date and that these mistakes don't happen again.
Right now Comcast is not on my Christmas list and when they screw up I have no problem pointing out those problems to them and after baseball season ends I will no longer be a Comcast customer so it will become a mute point for me. In the end the customer needs to let Comcast know when there are problems but you also should not trust one source of information if some program is that important to you, like baseball is to me :p
I think we are making to much of this little problem, Comcast has much more serious problems that need to be addressed rather than a program guide that is wrong once in a while but that's another story for another thread.... ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

Mikef5

08-03-06, 01:05 PM

davisdog and sfhub are right, Comcast is solely to blame for guide issues, in fact anything that comes down that pipe, (other than crappy programming :p ), is Comcast's responsibility. If something is wrong with the DVR we don't go to Motorola to fix it, we go to Comcast.

Comcast makes such a big deal about their program guide, how wonderful it is, blah, blah, then when something is not right with it they can't plead ignorance and pass the blame off to some other entity.
Wow, Jim you can't be serious... Comcast is SOLELY TO BLAME ??? Like TvGuide has no role in this and is blameless ??? Jim, you know how I feel about Comcast and I'll help you hold their feet to the fire but let's slam them for some serious problems like the big deal they make about their Video on Demand that we don't get because of the lack of bandwidth or all of the other programing that we don't get like the rest of the Bay Area does because of the lack of bandwidth, but we still pay the same prices for. This pales in comparison to the real problems that Comcast has and seems not to want to address, like why they treat the 550 MHz areas differently than the rest of the Bay Area, because we are not cost effective enough to upgrade ?? Smells like red lining to me just like they accuse AT&T of maybe going to do if that Assembly Bill goes through. I'm not saying to give Comcast a free pass on this problem but let's not make such a big deal on such a little problem, let's make a big deal on how they screw the 550 MHz areas and think nothing about doing that.

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-03-06, 02:10 PM

Wow, Jim you can't be serious... Comcast is SOLELY TO BLAME ??? Like TvGuide has no role in this and is blameless ??? Jim, you know how I feel about Comcast and I'll help you hold their feet to the fire but let's slam them for some serious problems like the big deal they make about their Video on Demand that we don't get because of the lack of bandwidth or all of the other programing that we don't get like the rest of the Bay Area does because of the lack of bandwidth, but we still pay the same prices for. This pales in comparison to the real problems that Comcast has and seems not to want to address, like why they treat the 550 MHz areas differently than the rest of the Bay Area, because we are not cost effective enough to upgrade ?? Smells like red lining to me just like they accuse AT&T of maybe going to do if that Assembly Bill goes through. I'm not saying to give Comcast a free pass on this problem but let's not make such a big deal on such a little problem, let's make a big deal on how they screw the 550 MHz areas and think nothing about doing that.

Laters,
Mikef5

As far as the relationship between Comcast and their subscribers, yes, Comcast is sitting in the blame seat. No, it's not a big deal relatively speaking, for example, I'm more concerned about the high price of gasoline and I'm certain that's Comcast's fault as well, when are they going to fix that? :p

Frankly, at this point in time I could give a rat's ass what Comcast does because they have made it clear they don't give a sh*t about their HD customers in 550 areas. It's unbelievable to me that DirecTV(and Dish in a few months) now has FSNBA-HD and we still don't have it on our 550 systems, what kind of crap is that??

So, I far as I'm concerned, everything is Comcast's fault. :D

Mikef5

08-03-06, 02:20 PM

So, I far as I'm concerned, everything is Comcast's fault. :D
Ok, so you were yanking my chain. Boy, I thought you had gone radical on me :D
I'm all for slamming Comcast when they deserve it and especially on this non upgrade policy that they seem to have for us in the ghettos.

Laters,
Mikef5

nikeykid

08-03-06, 02:48 PM

Ok, so you were yanking my chain. Boy, I thought you had gone radical on me :D
I'm all for slamming Comcast when they deserve it and especially on this non upgrade policy that they seem to have for us in the ghettos.

Laters,
Mikef5

for all of us lucky types in 860mhz areas, why is 725 still showing espn2hd? i believe it'll be NFLHD come fall, but can't they throw us a TNTHD, MHD, NGHD bone? why are they so adverse to giving us something new where we can actually have it. comcast is being hypocritical, it clearly discriminates against 550mhz areas yet still wants to treat us with all the same level of service (and bills). if u are gonna leave 550ers in the dust, do it right or don't do it at all.

keenan

08-03-06, 03:51 PM

Ok, so you were yanking my chain. Boy, I thought you had gone radical on me :D
I'm all for slamming Comcast when they deserve it and especially on this non upgrade policy that they seem to have for us in the ghettos.

Laters,
Mikef5
Well, considering you do have FSNBA-HD we're going to have to re-evaluate your membership in the "San Francisco Bay Area Comcast Ghetto-We Don't Give A Sh*t About You-550Mhz Systems Club".
We have very strict membership requirements but given your relationship to the enemy we'll continue to provide a special dispensation in your case. Be advised you will be monitored for possible traitorous acts detrimental to the "Club". :p :D

That's something else we won't see in 550 areas, no NFL Network late season HD games, one which looks to become a Thanksgiving Day tradition.

mjhhmb

08-03-06, 04:08 PM

I am in Lafayette and have 2 6412 IIIs. They both show Analog on SD channels. Can I expect much better picture quality if I can and do switch over to ADS?

Thanks!

Mikef5

08-03-06, 04:10 PM

Well, considering you do have FSNBA-HD we're going to have to re-evaluate your membership in the "San Francisco Bay Area Comcast Ghetto-We Don't Give A Sh*t About You-550Mhz Systems Club".
We have very strict membership requirements but given your relationship to the enemy we'll continue to provide a special dispensation in your case. Be advised you will be monitored for possible traitorous acts detrimental to the "Club". :p :D

That's something else we won't see in 550 areas, no NFL Network late season HD games, one which looks to become a Thanksgiving Day tradition.
You know I haven't heard from Mr. J. in a couple of months, ever since I brought up the non upgrade of our area again and when and if funding was ever going to be available... nothing but the sound of crickets :rolleyes: So I may have become a "persona non grata" in his eyes. As far as getting FSNBA-HD, if I didn't I'd been gone along time ago. I know it's only baseball and it's not life or death..... it's more important than that :p :D

Laters,
Mikef5

fender4645

08-03-06, 04:18 PM

I am in Lafayette and have 2 6412 IIIs. They both show Analog on SD channels. Can I expect much better picture quality if I can and do switch over to ADS?

Thanks!

I'm right up the hill from you in Moraga and we have ADS so I'm 99% sure you do as well. Picture quality is a bit better but not signficantly -- KICU still looks like crap. I like it because of the larger buffer for the lower channels. With analog you only get 45 minutes of buffer but with with digital, all channels (except HD) get between 1 1/2 and 2 hours of buffer time. Still not as good as my Replay but better then before.

mjhhmb

08-03-06, 04:20 PM

I'm right up the hill from you in Moraga and we have ADS so I'm 99% sure you do as well. Picture quality is a bit better but not signficantly -- KICU still looks like crap. I like it because of the larger buffer for the lower channels. With analog you only get 45 minutes of buffer but with with digital, all channels (except HD) get between 1 1/2 and 2 hours of buffer time. Still not as good as my Replay but better then before.

Thanks Fender.

How did you get ADS enabled? Do you have 6412 or 3412?

fender4645

08-03-06, 04:35 PM

Thanks Fender.

How did you get ADS enabled? Do you have 6412 or 3412?

One of my 6412's died on me and when I exchanged it at the Concord office, they gave me a 3412. A few days after connecting the 3412, my other 6412 turned switched to "ADS mode".

greeno

08-03-06, 06:29 PM

I wonder if anyone else is seeing this or if my unit (3412) is going bad. I've been watching more digital stations these days (IFC mainly) but also network tv as well using the 3412 instead of my NTSC tuner. Mainly on network tv I'm noticing horizontal bands near the top and bottom shift left/right slightly. It doesn't happen in a clearly delineated band, but in more of a diffuse region.

It's very annoying. DVD (HD input), HD channels and ntsc are fine. it's just the digital stations...

Best,
jeff

sfhub

08-03-06, 09:21 PM

Is it possible that is the line21 vertical blanking interval data?

mterzich

08-03-06, 11:26 PM

greeno

08-04-06, 12:04 AM

Good suggestion. I don't recall what it's set to but I'll play with 4:3 override.

What's line 21 vertical blanking interval?

jeff

sfhub

08-04-06, 01:25 AM

What's line 21 vertical blanking interval?
It's the close caption, XDS, and other data that is transmitted in the area just before the picture. The part that is usually stretched or overscanned (depending on your display technology) so it is beyond the edge of the screen and isn't visible.

Depending on the STB settings, your display settings, and/or the transmission, what shouldn't be normally visible shows up as random white dots in the form of a thin bar at the top edge of the picture.

ssmobin

08-04-06, 12:02 PM

Hmmm I tried to access the service menu with no luck. Pressed power, then cable. Also tried Power, then setup.

I guess I will just have to call comcast to see if I am even in an ADS area. We just got upgraded a couple months ago so I dont know what type of area we are in.
Service menu. Tune to the channel you want to check, then go into the service menu (power off, then middle button within 1 second).

I guess you might have to get Comcast to do something. Like I said, when I added the 3412, some time later the 6200 had switched over... I didn't check it for a week or 2 so I can't say exactly when it switched...

keenan

08-04-06, 01:36 PM

ZachAJ

08-04-06, 01:45 PM

Anyone hear the HDTV podcast on the AVSforum main page today? http://media.libsyn.com/media/hdtvpodcast/HDTV-2006-08-04.mp3

The relevant story is close to the beginning. Apparently, a listener "Steve" had complained about Comcast HD in the Bay Area (hmmm...never heard that before....) in a previous podcast and stated he'd be switching to satellite. A Comcast "higher-up" heard about it and contacted him. He asked Steve what he could do to keep him with Comcast and made some sort of deal to keep him...

Anyone know this Steve character and if this involved any promises to upgrade 550 areas?

At least we know that Comcast execs realize there is a problem...

keenan

08-04-06, 01:52 PM

Yes, he posts here all the time but he'll have to tell you the story, if he so chooses.

And no, there were no promises made regarding 550 areas.

Mikef5

08-04-06, 03:47 PM

Yes, he posts here all the time but he'll have to tell you the story, if he so chooses.

And no, there were no promises made regarding 550 areas.
So does he live in a 550 MHz area or in one of the other upgraded areas ??? If he doesn't live in the 550 MHz areas then why is he leaving ??? I could see it if he lived in our area but not if he's in a fully upgraded area.

Laters,
Mikef5

ssmobin

08-04-06, 04:07 PM

Thanks, after several tries I got it to work.

I am looking at the In-Band Status and it says In-Band Tuner 1 - Mode: Analog and In-Band Tuner 2 Mode: 256 QAM

Do they both need to be in the QAM mode to ensure I am receiving a digital signal?
With the unit on, press POWER then immediately press OK/SELECT, the diagnostic menu will appear.

keenan

08-04-06, 04:09 PM

So does he live in a 550 MHz area or in one of the other upgraded areas ??? If he doesn't live in the 550 MHz areas then why is he leaving ??? I could see it if he lived in our area but not if he's in a fully upgraded area.

Laters,
Mikef5
If it's who I'm pretty sure it is, I'm not sure what system his area has, I'd have to go back through some of the posts to see. He'll probably respond here soon, maybe, if he chooses to. I've had some PMs with him(pretty sure it's the same person) but obviously I'm not going to make them public. Not really much of a big deal, he called Comcast about some issues and they gave him some discounts to stay with them. It's something I've considered doing myself, but I can't get ANYONE FROM COMCAST TO RESPOND!!

keenan

08-04-06, 04:12 PM

Here's an interesting post from gmwedding in the Sacramento thread. While it's Sacramento specific you can figure that much of what is talked about would pertain to this area as well. Pretty depressing, especially for 550'ers.

After seeing many AVS forum members repeatedly post messages detailing their frustrations about getting Comcast Sacramento to answer key questions about HDTV programming, earlier this week I called the Comcast Executive Complaint Center in Philadelphia (215-665-1700), which promises to address issues within 24 hours.

I quickly received a couple of call backs from corporate headquarters, and then a call from a friendly and knowledgable Comcast Sacramento staffer who handles Executive Complaints locally. I asked about the following issues:

1. A misleading Comcast Sacramento ad that touts "More HD." DISH Satellite service offers twice as many HD channels as Comcast Sacramento.
2. Comcast Sacramento's tardiness in adding HD channels in the metro Sacramento area (over a year late in delivering TNT-HD, bungling the ESPN2-HD startup, which still is not available locally, no Universal HD, no UPN/WB HD etc.), even though Comcast Sacramento delivers some of these same channels to other cities in their franchise area.
3. An error on the Comcast.com Web site that confuses and misleads customers about HD programming. For weeks, when selecting Support and Service: My Channel Lineup, the guide reported that ESPN-2 was offered in my zip code (95758), when it wasn't.
4. The frustrating problems reported by many AVS Forum members who also are Comcast Sacramento customers -- we cannot get accurate support and programming information from the telephone technicians, who all too often are uninformed and offer incorrect or misleading information.
5. The lack of compelling content for widescreen HDTV owners. In my view, On-Demand is a failure for Comcast's HD customers, because it offers very little widescreen or HD content. After upgrading, new HDTV owners do not want to watch stretched 4:3 content on new widescreen HDTVs, especially movies. Comcast's Premium Channels (some of which offer HD content), are an option, but they are overpriced at $15.99-to-$17.99 each and you have to subscribe to the NTSC 4:3 Premium channels as well. For roughly the same price, you can purchase a Netflix or Blockbuster online subscription and receive a much wider range of widescreen, DVD-resolution movie and video content by mail. And many HDTV owners do this.

To Comcast's credit, the local Executive Complaints rep was a good listener. While cautious with her statements, she was straightforward and forthright. "Right now, bandwidth limitations limit the number of channels we can add,” she explained. "We are upgrading our offerings, and it is going to be a state-of-the-art system next year, but we’re in a transition now."

She offered an example of their plans. "Next year (in the Spring for Elk Grove), we’re going to be doing a project called all-digital in some areas. The representative said that when implemented, "all TVs would require a converter to get a digital signal." The implication is that this change would allow Comcast Sacramento to drop the analog channels in some areas, which in turn would free up the necessary bandwidth to add more HD channels.

"Our plan is to add 10 HD channels next year," the Comcast Sacramento rep continued, including ESPN-2 and TNT-HD." She implied that Comcast Sacramento is discussing what other channels also might be added, but acknowledged that Universal HD, HD Net, CW (KMax), Food Network, "and other popular HD channels you often hear mentioned," were under consideration.

When pressed for more details on the timing for completing the digital upgrades, she understandably offered less information. However, when asked, she did acknowledge that the rollout for these services to all areas could take the entire 2007 calendar year.

Incidentally, she reported that this system upgrade also will include VOIP telephone service. Also, I checked the My Channel Lineup at the comcast.com Web site today. The erroneous ESPN2-HD listing on channel 924 for my Zip code was gone. Finally, I acknowledged and thanked Comcast for offering six-month service discounts to existing customers, which helps mitigate the current lack of HD programming. But I also told her that this might not be enough to keep some customers who still might be enticed to DISH, since it offers so many more HD channels. I suggested that Comcast Sacramento try to put together an interim, reduced-priced Premium Channel bundle so that digital customers can at least get access to more HD content temporarily on the HBO, Showtime, Starz and Cinemax-HD channels during this transition. She thought that was an interesting idea and promised to look into it.

So, if this information is correct, it looks like it will be 7-to-16 months before Comcast Sacramento will be in a position to roll out additional HD channels to all metropolitan areas. Some Sacramento County customers may be moved to all-digital service in as few as 7 months. It is unclear whether these customers would receive additional HD channels sooner.

Whether this transition takes 7 or 16 months, that's a long time to wait for more HD content, especially if Dish and Surwest add the regional sports networks. I do think this may be the best intelligence we're going to get on these issues for now. It's too bad that Comcast Sacramento cannot provide such basic service information to all telephone support technicians, and that customers have to jump through so many hoops to obtain it. But this should provide sufficient information for those who are considering a switch to DISH, or to SureWest (if that service is available in your area) and again, Comcast is to be commended for finally providing answers to some of these questions.

I also got the feeling that the representative I spoke to was aware of this forum, and she said she would take a look at it again. If you are so inclined, it probably wouldn't hurt for others to call the Executive Complaint line and voice your concerns and programming priorities.

Any thoughts?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8142258#post8142258
Sacramento, CA - Comcast - AVS Forum

Mikef5

08-04-06, 05:16 PM

Here's an interesting post from gmwedding in the Sacramento thread. While it's Sacramento specific you can figure that much of what is talked about would pertain to this area as well. Pretty depressing, especially for 550'ers.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8142258#post8142258
Sacramento, CA - Comcast - AVS Forum
So basically, they haven't started ADS in Sacramento and they are going to drop all the analog channels to free up bandwidth ?? Well, Mr. Burke has said publicly that they are NOT going to drop all the analog channels so only a small amount of bandwidth will be made available, just so those poor analog people won't feel disenfranchised. So, why don't they just issue those DCT 700's that are sitting in the warehouse gathering dust and just drop the analog channels and free up that bandwidth. That would be cheaper than trying to do a system upgrade and much quicker. I guess I spent to long in the military where you just get the job done no matter what it takes, just do it.
Ok, I"m off the soap box :rolleyes:
One last thing..... How about some input on what you want Comcast to do and how you think they should accomplish it. I guarantee that someone from Comcast will see this.

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-04-06, 05:18 PM

Thanks, after several tries I got it to work.

I am looking at the In-Band Status and it says In-Band Tuner 1 - Mode: Analog and In-Band Tuner 2 Mode: 256 QAM

Do they both need to be in the QAM mode to ensure I am receiving a digital signal?
One of the ADS folks will have to answer your question, we're still in the dark ages up here in Santa Rosa.

keenan

08-04-06, 05:27 PM

One last thing..... How about some input on what you want Comcast to do and how you think they should accomplish it. I guarantee that someone from Comcast will see this.

Laters,
Mikef5
Well, for 550 areas how about a little different price/option structure, similar to what they have in Boston. In Boston you can get the DVR with just Limited Basic. You can add Digital Classic, or the equivalent, to that without having to purchase Expanded Basic. If I could get at least that, Comcast would be my heroes, and it would show that Comcast at least cares a little about it's HD customers. To have to pay $75 a month for 7 HD channels and the DVR is freaking ridiculous. Comcast needs to realize that there is an ever growing sub base that cares absolutely nothing for analog channels and that having to pay for them is viewed as nothing but an expensive surcharge in order to get recordable HD. Even eliminating the Expanded Basic requirement would be an improvement.

Also, there must be some way to get FSNBA-HD on these 550 systems....that and the DVR pricing and I'll take out a full page ad in the Chron touting what a great company Comcast is.

P.S. I'm not asking for Comcast to do this in all areas, let's be honest, it's no secret that the different bay area systems have different programming and services, I don't see why Comcast can't have different pricing structures for these different areas as well, they do in other parts of the country, why not here?

It completely disgusts me that I pay the same price as a sub who gets VOD, all HD channels available in the bay, faster HSI, etc..be a little pro-consumer instead of just grabbing as much as they can get from everyone, build some good will in the ghetto areas, maybe it will pay off in the long run instead of pizza dishes sprouting up all over the place, especially now that DirecTV has FSNBA-HD and Dish will soon also.

Mikef5

08-04-06, 05:52 PM

Well, for 550 areas how about a little different price/option structure, similar to what they have in Boston. In Boston you can get the DVR with just Limited Basic. You can add Digital Classic, or the equivalent, to that without having to purchase Expanded Basic. If I could get at least that, Comcast would be my heroes, and it would show that Comcast at least cares a little about it's HD customers. To have to pay $75 a month for 7 HD channels and the DVR is freaking ridiculous. Comcast needs to realize that there is an ever growing sub base that cares absolutely nothing for analog channels and that having to pay for them is viewed as nothing but an expensive surcharge in order to get recordable HD. Even eliminating the Expanded Basic requirement would be an improvement.

Also, there must be some way to get FSNBA-HD on these 550 systems....that and the DVR pricing and I'll take out a full page ad in the Chron touting what a great company Comcast is.

P.S. I'm not asking for Comcast to do this in all areas, let's be honest, it's no secret that the different bay area systems have different programming and services, I don't see why Comcast can't have different pricing structures for these different areas as well, they do in other parts of the country, why not here?

It completely disgusts me that I pay the same price as a sub who gets VOD, all HD channels available in the bay, faster HSI, etc..be a little pro-consumer instead of just grabbing as much as they can get from everyone, build some good will in the ghetto areas, maybe it will pay off in the long run instead of pizza dishes sprouting up all over the place, especially now that DirecTV has FSNBA-HD and will soon also.
Sounds reasonable to me, I'll make sure this is brought up to Comcast. I think Comcast really needs to do a better job in reaching out to the 550 MHz areas and at least let them know that they are not just on the back burner and forgotten.

Laters,
Mikef5

D-Real

08-04-06, 06:11 PM

keenan

08-04-06, 06:21 PM

I like Keenan’s suggestion. I recently spoke to the person that handles the cable franchise relationship with Comcast in the San Lorenzo/Hayward area. She was going to raise my concerns about the limited amount of services in our 550 Mhz area with Comcast. One of my main points of concern was that we pay the same price as other subs for less service. She said that Comcast has been dragging its feet in regards to the future of 550 areas because it wants to see how the statewide franchise legislation will shape up. It looks like there will be a vote about it next week so we’ll see what happens.
Indeed, that's what one of the main issues is here in Santa Rosa and I'm aware of at least one other 550 locality/city that has said the same thing.

While a statewide franchise scheme may be good for already builtup areas, I think it could be a disaster for ghetto systems, the local entity will have next to nothing in leverage to insure that anything gets done.

There are, of course, two sides to this, the local franchise authority may be asking for the moon and I can understand Comcast's reluctance to move forward. In Santa Rosa, I know for a fact this is not the case, there are no obstructions placed by The City to Comcast upgrading the system, Comcast has simply chosen not to.

D-Real

08-04-06, 06:36 PM

This legislation has the possibility of leaving us in the dark ages for many moons. According to one of my sources, Comcast was actually close to doing a rebuild in our area last year and even had its contractors ready to go. However, they pulled the plug at the last minute in part because of this legislation and because Comcast investors wanted to see more ROI from the areas that had already been upgraded before investing further into the region.

I can’t believe we were that close to getting out the 550 ghetto…

Mikef5

08-04-06, 06:39 PM

There are, of course, two sides to this, the local franchise authority may be asking for the moon and I can understand Comcast's reluctance to move forward. In Santa Rosa, I know for a fact this is not the case, there are no obstructions placed by The City to Comcast upgrading the system, Comcast has simply chosen not to. Well, I can tell you in Milpitas there's only one board member than knows what's going on with HD and that's the person I've been dealing with. I'm sure there is no problem with the franchise board blocking Comcast in upgrading our area. I do know that the Comcast representative to the franchise board didn't know that we don't get VOD or ESPN2-HD and didn't know why, that didn't sit well with me. I found this out by reading the franchise board minutes.
I've got a bad feeling that Comcast maybe waiting to find out the outcome of the vote on the state franchise boards before doing anything for us in the 550 MHz areas. But I can see the problem for Comcast, do I deal with the local franchise and if I do what happens when they are replaced with the state franchise board. Do they have to do the deals over again, are they locked into the local deals ??? So, it maybe a waiting game..

Laters,
Mikef5

ssmobin

08-04-06, 06:59 PM

Ahhh, sounds like my area! Thanks for the help.One of the ADS folks will have to answer your question, we're still in the dark ages up here in Santa Rosa.

fender4645

08-04-06, 07:15 PM

Thanks, after several tries I got it to work.

I am looking at the In-Band Status and it says In-Band Tuner 1 - Mode: Analog and In-Band Tuner 2 Mode: 256 QAM

Do they both need to be in the QAM mode to ensure I am receiving a digital signal?

In essence, yes. One of your tuners is probably tuned to an analog channel and the other is tuned to a digital channel. The best test is to tune both tuners to channel 2 and then check the In-Band status. While some folks seem to have been able to get a CSR to "switch them over" to ADS, the surest way is to connect a 3412 somewhere in you house. At some point, all of your boxes (if you have more then one) will switch over to ADS. if you live by a Comcast office, just walk in and request a 3412. If they give you one then ADS is available in your area.

fender4645

08-04-06, 07:32 PM

So does he live in a 550 MHz area or in one of the other upgraded areas ??? If he doesn't live in the 550 MHz areas then why is he leaving ??? I could see it if he lived in our area but not if he's in a fully upgraded area.

Laters,
Mikef5

I will tell you what I know (I neither claim nor deny being "Steve"). Comcast DOES have a "Customer Retention" department although it's not that easy to get to (you can't just call 1-800-COMCAST, press * and think you're going to get connected). There are 2 ways to achieve this: 1) go the CSR route and keep escalating your frustrations until your issue/ticket finally reaches the appropriate person, or 2) search and find a way to contact "a higher power" at Comcast. The latter is probably the quickest route and believe me, finding contact info is not all that difficult (of course if everyone did this they might make it a bit harder). Every case is handled individually and my guess is that a lot has to do with how much you pay per month (including Internet and phone). If you only have CATV through Comcast and pay $39/month, don't expect too much -- if anything at all. However if you have a "high" CATV package as well as HSI, the fruits of your labor may be rewarded. My bill went down from about $160/month down to $103 and I didn't lose anything (this discount is for 1 year). There was also a hefty credit issued to my account but that was due to some extenuating circumstances.

I live in a 750MHz area.

Bill

08-04-06, 08:35 PM

Sounds reasonable to me, I'll make sure this is brought up to Comcast. I think Comcast really needs to do a better job in reaching out to the 550 MHz areas and at least let them know that they are not just on the back burner and forgotten.

Laters,
Mikef5

Comcast 550mhz areas can't hold a candle to Dish when it comes to HD (or SD PQ for that matter) no matter what it does so why would they bother for the few subscribers it would affect? In other words, just get Dish. I assure you, Comcast won't miss you. Didn't bat an eye when I said I was going to Dish, knew they couldn't compete in so many different ways besides simply HD. Dish's superior DVR for one. In 2009 when the analog channels go off the air we can reexamine this. My commitment only goes through the end of 2007, so no problem switching at that point.

nikeykid

08-04-06, 09:14 PM

PaulGo

08-04-06, 09:47 PM

no 3412 for me! they don't have it in my local office, and they say my 6412 can't do ADS. wow. i can't even CALL my local office to ever see if they get it in either, i just have to drop by lol... comcast is the best.

I have a 6412 with ADS on it. Comcast in my area had no problems turning it on. Any digital box should be capable of ADS it is just a matter of them implementing a program that remaps the box. (I also have ADS on my 6200 box.) You need to get a hold of someone that knows what they are doing since the only difference between a 6412 and a 3412 is that the 6412 has a analog tuner, but the both have the same digital tuners.

millerwill

08-04-06, 10:20 PM

With the unit on, press POWER then immediately press OK/SELECT, the diagnostic menu will appear.

When I do this, I get 'Error EP00', not the diagnostic menu. (I have the 3412 box.)

keenan

08-04-06, 10:22 PM

When I do this, I get 'Error EP00', not the diagnostic menu. (I have the 3412 box.)
I don't have any experience with the 3412, I know the above works with the 6412, I had assumed it would be the same.

nikeykid

08-04-06, 10:53 PM

You need to get a hold of someone that knows what they are doing

lol! i remember how long it took us to get the dolby/HDMI fix. but yeah i'll keep calling. i'll let everyone know what the magic words are.

mterzich

08-04-06, 11:17 PM

When I do this, I get 'Error EP00', not the diagnostic menu. (I have the 3412 box.)
You must have hit the OK/Select twice. You should have the Error Status on the screen. Hit the back arrow to go back to the diagnostic menu.

millerwill

08-04-06, 11:55 PM

You must have hit the OK/Select twice. You should have the Error Status on the screen. Hit the back arrow to go back to the diagnostic menu.

Thanks much mterzich! Yes, I was hitting OK/Select too deliberately, so that it must have registered as hitting it twice. When I hit it and released very quickly, the diagnostic menu came up just fine.

sfhub

08-05-06, 02:11 AM

Here's an interesting post from gmwedding in the Sacramento thread. While it's Sacramento specific you can figure that much of what is talked about would pertain to this area as well. Pretty depressing, especially for 550'ers.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8142258#post8142258
Sacramento, CA - Comcast - AVS Forum
Is Sacramento a mixed 550/750/860 market like ours or are they all 750/860? If latter (assuming they have finished upgrading to 256QAM), they most likely have bandwidth to add some HD channels, the 750/860 areas in our market have bandwidth that is not being used.

keenan

08-05-06, 02:29 AM

Is Sacramento a mixed 550/750/860 market like ours or are they all 750/860? If latter (assuming they have finished upgrading to 256QAM), they most likely have bandwidth to add some HD channels, the 750/860 areas in our market have bandwidth that is not being used.
I think it's a 750/860 area. My mother's system is downtown Sac(one of the areas that folks complain about a lot) and they have INHD and VOD so there must be more space than a typical 550 system. From what I gather they have a lot of headend equipment issues preventing HD channel additions. As is it anywhere in CA currently, I think Comcast is probably in a wait and see mode before making anymore capitol improvements beyond what they've already budgeted. They do have direct competition though, right in the downtown metro area from Surewest who smokes Comcast's HD channel lineup.

While subs have been upgrading to digital from analog, I think Comcast's focus is increasing the amount of other revenue producing services, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see phone service added before we see any more HD channels, especially on 550 systems. HD just doesn't pay.

nikeykid

08-05-06, 11:20 AM

hey!! you guys know that we have TNT-HD right?? lol, but its on demand... and its just one series (nightmares in HD). pq looks pretty good, my first time seeing anything on TNT-HD! now if only they'd have basketball games on-demand, that u know, was fed live, i would stop asking for this channel.

shane55

08-05-06, 01:25 PM

Hi... sorry if this has been asked (and answered) anywhere else in this thread, but...

Does Bay Area Comcrap run any type of calibration programming?
INHD used to run Bars and Tones, but I can't find it on their site.

Anyone?

TIA.

shane

keenan

08-05-06, 01:36 PM

walk

08-05-06, 04:02 PM

What are the chances we'll see MPEG4 on Comcast systems before the decade is out?

I can understand the delay in moving to all-digital if they are planning a switchover to MP4 any time soon...

Chandu1

08-05-06, 04:40 PM

I've spent time figuring out the complete PSIP channel mapping for what Comcast sends out as "QAM in the clear" over here in Foster City. I'm documenting the table here in case if anyone is interested in it. Hopefully it will be of some use to someone.

As much as possible, I've tried to provide non-PSIP channel number used by analog/Comcast digital cable box/cable card etc. tuners in the third column.

I have 2 digital cable tuners. One with QAM in the clear, another with CableCard. For the QAM in the clear tuner, PSIP channel numbers in the first column work. While for the CableCard enabled tuner, channel numbers in the third column work.

29-1 TV Guide 11
29-5 Peninsula TV 26
29-6 San Mateo Community Channel
29-7 Foster City TV Community Channel 27
29-8 ????
29-9 Belmont Community Channel
29-10 Redwood City Community Channel
29-11 San Carlos Community Channel
29-12 California Channel 28
78-1 HD Special Events 725
79-1 KPIX-5 HD CBS HD 705
79-2 KTVU-2 HD Fox HD 702
80-4 WGN 33
80-7 Jewelery TV 24
85-4 Court TV 65
86-1 C-SPAN 22
86-2 C-SPAN2 23
86-3 Animal Planet 51
86-4 Travel Channel 71
86-5 TV One
86-7 CNN 56
86-8 Golf Channel 80
86-9 Home Shopping Network 31
86-10 QVC 34
86-12 Headline News 57
87-1 KTVU-2 Fox SD 2
87-2 KRON-4 SD 4
87-3 KPIX-5 CBS SD 5
87-4 KGO-7 ABC SD 7
87-5 KQED-9 PBS SD (analog digital simulcast) 9
87-6 KDTV-14 Univision 14
87-7 KBWB-20 WB 13
87-8 KTSF-26 8
87-9 KTNC-42 Azteca America 19
87-10 KBHK-44 UPN 12
88-1 KRCB-22 PBS SD
88-2 KMTP-32 (analog digital simulcast) 32
88-3 KCNS-38 Shop at Home 21
88-4 KCSM-60 PBS SD 17
88-5 KFSF-66 Telefutura 20
88-6 KTLN-68 Christian TV 25
90-9 History Channel 62
93-1 KNTV-11 NBC SD 3
93-2 KICU-36 6
93-3 KSTS-48 Telemundo 18
93-4 KTEH-54 PBS SD 10
93-5 KKPX-65 i 16
93-10 Comcast Sportsnet 400
94-3 Discovery Channel 15
98-13 MoviePlex 149
99-11 NBA TV 416
111-8 KRON HD 704
115-3 Comcast on Demand Preview
116-1 KNTV HD NBC HD 703
116-3 KNTV Weather 186
117-1 KGO HD ABC HD 707
117-2 KQED-HD PBS HD 709
117-3 KQED-Encore 189
117-4 KQED-World 190
117-5 KQED-Life 191
117-6 KQED-Kids 192
117-7 KGO-DT Plus 194
117-8 KGO Weather Plus 195
118-1 KFTY-50
118-10 KQED 88.5 FM Public (Audio) 960
118-11 KRCB 90.9 FM Public (Audio) 961
118-12 KCSM 91.1 FM Jazz (Audio) 962
118-13 KSJO 92.3 FM Spanish (Audio) 963
118-14 KNGY 92.7 FM Dance (Audio) 964
118-15 KRZZ 93.3 FM Spanish (Audio) 965
118-16 KJZY 93.7 FM Smooth Jazz (Audio) 966
118-17 KPFA 94.1 FM Free Speech (Audio) 967
118-18 KBAY 94.5 FM Contemp. (Audio) 968
118-19 KYLD 94.9 FM Hip Hop (Audio) 969
118-20 KRTY 95.3 FM Country (Audio) 970
118-21 KZBR 95.7 FM 70s/80s (Audio) 971
118-22 KOIT 96.5 FM Contemp. (Audio) 972
118-23 KLLC 97.3 FM Hot AC (Audio) 973
118-24 KISQ 98.1 FM Contemp. (Audio) 974
118-25 KUFX 98.5 FM Classic Rock (Audio) 975
118-26 KSOL 98.9 FM Spanish (Audio) 976
118-27 KFRC 99.7 FM Contemp. (Audio) 977
118-28 KZST 100.1 FM Contemp. (Audio) 978
118-29 KBRG 100.3 FM Spanish (Audio) 979
118-30 KIOI 101.3 FM Hot AC (Audio) 980
118-31 KDFC 102.1 FM Classical (Audio) 981
118-32 KBLX 102.9 FM Urban (Audio) 982
118-33 KKSF 103.7 FM Smooth Jazz (Audio) 983
118-34 KFOG 104.5 FM Album Rock (Audio) 984
118-35 KRPQ 104.9 FM Country (Audio) 985
118-36 KITS 105.3 FM Alternative (Audio) 986
118-37 KMEL 106.1 FM Hip Hop (Audio) 987
118-38 KEZR 106.5 FM Hot AC (Audio) 988
118-39 KSAN 107.7 FM Classic Rock (Audio) 989
120-10 Comcast on Demand Preview
121-21 Rock en Español Music Choice (Audio) 948
121-22 Salsa Music Choice (Audio) 949
121-23 Tejano Music Choice (Audio) 950
121-24 Latin Jazz Music Choice (Audio) 951
121-25 Regional Mexican Music Choice (Audio) 952
121-26 Musica de las Americas Music Choice (Audio) 953
121-27 Fiesta Tropical Music Choice (Audio) 954
121-28 Latin Contemp. Music Choice (Audio) 955
122-8 Access TV Network 77
122-11 American Life TV Network

millerwill

08-05-06, 04:50 PM

I'm getting ESPN2, ch 724 as 'not authorized' when I try to select it? What's going on?

Chandu1

08-05-06, 09:25 PM

I'm getting ESPN2, ch 724 as 'not authorized' when I try to select it? What's going on?

I have a CableCard, and I don't have this problem. ESPN2-HD coming through loud and clear.

usc10

08-05-06, 09:51 PM

Mikef5

08-06-06, 01:15 AM

I E-Mail Mr. Johnson this is what he said

We have started the process to build a new fiber-optic network with additional capacity for
new services, including On Demand, more high-definition channels and Comcast Digital Voice
in Antioch, Pittsburg and Bay Point. Work is already underway in Antioch, we will move to
Pittsburg next and finish up with Bay Point. The entire process should take one year.

Mikef5 dont know if Mr. Johnson said the same thing to Mikef5 in Malpitas

usc10
No he's said nothing about Milpitas or the SaraMilgatos area in general. I will email him and ask if this also includes this area also. Thanks for the info.

Laters,
Mikef5

potts92

08-06-06, 03:30 AM

I am new to Comcast. What is ADS?

fender4645

08-06-06, 03:40 AM

I am new to Comcast. What is ADS?

All Digital Simulcast. It's when cable providers transmit both analog and digital versions of the analog channels. While it doesn't save any bandwidth (in fact it adds more bandwidth), some people say it's the first step in moving away from analog completely.

nikeykid

08-06-06, 11:33 AM

will kpix show any of the niners preseason games in HD?

Mikef5

08-06-06, 12:07 PM

will kpix show any of the niners preseason games in HD?
I went to the KPIX web site and they list the first 2 pre-season games as being shown in HD, so if you want to believe their tv guide programing then yes at least the first 2 will be. The guide only goes for 2 weeks so I can't tell if the rest will be but you would think that if the first 2 are the rest should be also ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

mjhhmb

08-06-06, 12:13 PM

nikeykid

08-06-06, 12:13 PM

thx... methinks this will be an excellent year for NFL + HD. i assume nfl hd will move back chan 725. the only holdout is cbs's 3 hd games per week. welcome to 2006 cbs.

nikeykid

08-06-06, 12:17 PM

So I called this morning and asked if it was possible to get them to switch me over to digital signal for SD channels, CSR insisted the only way to do this was to go get a 3412 (I am in Lafayette and have 2 6412 IIIs).

Is it right to assume that my PQ will be better on the SD channels if I switch to digital feed?

Is it worth calling back and asking for someone else or should I just go exchange one of the 6412s for a 3412 next week?

Thanks!

i hope ur local office has them, i went to mine and they didn't. they looked at me funny when i said ADS. also, people keep insisting if we talk to the right CSRs, we can get the digital feeds mapped to our 6412s. i've had no such luck.

Mikef5

08-06-06, 12:46 PM

thx... methinks this will be an excellent year for NFL + HD. i assume nfl hd will move back chan 725. the only holdout is cbs's 3 hd games per week. welcome to 2006 cbs.
That would be nice if you live in an area that gets 725, which I don't :(
To put programing on a special channel that all areas don't get is, in my opinion, not a good idea. To put it another way, put yourself in my position. I would like to view programing that is available in all other areas but because I don't get a specific channel I am unable to watch that programing and because of low bandwidth I probably will not get that channel for some time to come, not a good feeling.

Laters,
Mikef5

bobby94928

08-06-06, 12:56 PM

That would be nice if you live in an area that gets 725, which I don't :(
To put programing on a special channel that all areas don't get is, in my opinion, not a good idea. To put it another way, put yourself in my position. I would like to view programing that is available in all other areas but because I don't get a specific channel I am unable to watch that programing and because of low bandwidth I probably will not get that channel for some time to come, not a good feeling.

Laters,
Mikef5

Mike, I feel your pain. However, most of the Bay Area does get channel 725 and I'm not sure that all of us should do without to share your lack of programming. Last year, the Special Events Channel 725 carried NFL-HD for the HD events that they carried. The precedent has been set. They've got to carry on.

Mikef5

08-06-06, 01:14 PM

Mike, I feel your pain. However, most of the Bay Area does get channel 725 and I'm not sure that all of us should do without to share your lack of programming. Last year, the Special Events Channel 725 carried NFL-HD for the HD events that they carried. The precedent has been set. They've got to carry on.
Bobby,
You miss the point, I'm not asking you to give up anything, I'm asking Comcast to upgrade all areas to the same level so this situation doesn't happen all the time. It's like the have's and have not's. The have not's feel left out and excluded while the have's can't understand what's the problem. Walk a mile in my shoes...... so the old song goes :rolleyes:

Laters,
Mikef5

greeno

08-06-06, 01:19 PM

So I called this morning and asked if it was possible to get them to switch me over to digital signal for SD channels, CSR insisted the only way to do this was to go get a 3412 (I am in Lafayette and have 2 6412 IIIs).

Is it right to assume that my PQ will be better on the SD channels if I switch to digital feed?

Is it worth calling back and asking for someone else or should I just go exchange one of the 6412s for a 3412 next week?

Thanks!

IMO, the pq of SD channels (digital ones) is better with ADS, but it is far from what I would call good. You'll see contouring, pixelization, and macroblocking.

I have a 3412 and a 6200. same on both.

jeff

keenan

08-06-06, 02:24 PM

Bobby,
You miss the point, I'm not asking you to give up anything, I'm asking Comcast to upgrade all areas to the same level so this situation doesn't happen all the time. It's like the have's and have not's. The have not's feel left out and excluded while the have's can't understand what's the problem. Walk a mile in my shoes...... so the old song goes :rolleyes:

Laters,
Mikef5
Yeah, it sucks, as I noted months ago, this will be the first year that we won't be able to see 8 nationally televised regular season HD football games because we don't get the channel.

The best we can hope for is that all the games involve a local team and either KPIX or KTVU carries the game in HD. :p

walk

08-06-06, 02:27 PM

Depends on how good your analog signal is, but it's probably going to be about the same, a little better, or maybe even a little worse (if your analog signal is above average).

The only channel I really notice any real difference is on Cartoon Network (ch 54).
This is due to 2 things - the programming (lots of solid colors) and the fact that it's a 704x480 direct feed.

The channels they source from the air, and/or channels they compress into 528x480, will probably look about the same.

It's probably not worth hassling over IMO.

Mikef5

08-06-06, 02:35 PM

Yeah, it sucks, as I noted months ago, this will be the first year that we won't be able to see 8 nationally televised regular season HD football games because we don't get the channel.

The best we can hope for is that all the games involve a local team and either KPIX or KTVU carries the game in HD. :p
Jim,
Know what really irks me the most is alot of people in the have's areas can't understand what the big deal is, sorry you don't get the channels but we do so we're just going to move on and leave you behind. I wonder how they would feel if Comcast decided to make the programing the same through out the area, so if one area didn't get a channel no one would ?? Treat all areas the same, with the same programing???? I bet the screaming could be heard all the way to Capital Hill and to the Ivory Towers of Comcast's CEO ..... like I said walk in my shoes and see how it feels.

Laters,
Mikef5

bobby94928

08-06-06, 02:58 PM

Mike, I opened with I feel your pain, and Jim's as well. Jim lives just north of me. I'm in a 750 area, you and Jim are in 500. I can't help that situation. What you are asking Comcast to do is to make it an even playing field. I can appreciate that, but then we, the haves, are going to lose a bunch of channels. Yep, we're gonna scream, but nothing else is going to happen. The only thing that will alleviate that is to go somewhere else. The problem is that we are all a minority, yet. Comcast really doesn't care if we go somewhere else at this point. It's a drop in the bucket. I left Dish, after 8 years, a year and a half ago. Why? Because they kept promising my local channels in HD. For years! I got fed up and went somewhere else. That somewhere else was Comcast. I actually go input from Jim just before I did it. It made sense for me to do that, it was the only way I could get what I wanted. I haven't looked back yet. Jim has a whole plethora of services to get what he wants, Comcast, Dish AND DirecTV. He and I both tried antenna systems but it's a crapshoot up here. Not everyone can afford to do what Jim has done, but everyone can make an educated decision as to what they want and where they can get it. That 's what I did. If comcast didn't offer my locals in HD when I went there, I wouldn't have left Dish. Comcast did have what I wanted so here I am. Do I want more out of Comcast. You're damned straight I do, but unless I go Jim's way, I have to wait. Not much I can do about it.

I really do think it sucks that I get the programming that I do for the same cost that you get for less programming, but, I'm not about to go to Comcast and demand that they take my programming away in protest. The only recourse for you guys is to get together, just like a union and city by city leave in droves and let them know why that exodus is happening. It probably won't matter to them, but what else do you have!

keenan

08-06-06, 03:00 PM

Jim,
Know what really irks me the most is alot of people in the have's areas can't understand what the big deal is, sorry you don't get the channels but we do so we're just going to move on and leave you behind. I wonder how they would feel if Comcast decided to make the programing the same through out the area, so if one area didn't get a channel no one would ?? Treat all areas the same, with the same programing???? I bet the screaming could be heard all the way to Capital Hill and to the Ivory Towers of Comcast's CEO ..... like I said walk in my shoes and see how it feels.

Laters,
Mikef5
Well, I think you may be over-generalizing the "others" ( :p ) in saying that they don't care about "us". I would not wish the "others' to lose any programming or services, and when you get right down to it, this is pretty much a "me" situation, all that really matters is what "I" get, and Comcast knows this and takes advantage of it, after all, as you've noted, if all the subs in the bay area started raising hell about the conditions in 550 systems then Comcast would have to take notice.

It would be nice to believe that Comcast might do something, cost or service-wise, for 550 systems like the things we notes earlier, but honestly, I don't expect anything to change. Comcast is a for-profit company, and regardless of how, and with who, they try and stay in touch, and be responsive, to their subs, the bottom line is the only thing that will change anything is when they start to lose subs, and a significant amount at that.

No Expanded Basic and Digital Classic required for the DVR? Never going to happen.

Provide a special events channel for NFL Net HD games? Never going to happen when they claim they don't even have room to add a single more HD channel already.

Andrew Johnson is probably a great guy, and may truly be trying to help us 550'ers, but when you get down to it, anything that would lower Comcast's revenue(suggestions noted earlier) is simply not going to happen, no matter how warm and fuzzy they will try and make us feel.

It may seem as if I'm being rather pessimistic, but I'm actually looking at it realistically, nothing is going to change until Comcast decides it will increase their revenues, or prevent losing current revenue, and right now, there just isn't enough of us to matter.

fender4645

08-06-06, 03:16 PM

Jim,
Know what really irks me the most is alot of people in the have's areas can't understand what the big deal is, sorry you don't get the channels but we do so we're just going to move on and leave you behind. I wonder how they would feel if Comcast decided to make the programing the same through out the area, so if one area didn't get a channel no one would ?? Treat all areas the same, with the same programing???? I bet the screaming could be heard all the way to Capital Hill and to the Ivory Towers of Comcast's CEO ..... like I said walk in my shoes and see how it feels.

Laters,
Mikef5

I personally don't think Comcast is holding back on the 750ers and above just because the 550ers can't get new channels. If that was the case, we wouldn't have all the channels that the 550ers don't have. That being said, Mike, you have to realize that while you guys are stuck in a very bad situation, you do NOT represent the majority of subscribers in the Bay Area. I can't remember what the exact percentage was but I believe it was around 10%. We all feel for you guys and would do anything we could to help you out in your situation. However, if I thought for a second that I was getting less programming because of other areas and my system could handle it, I would complain in a heartbeat. If we were to try and use the logic of "if I can't have it then you can't have it", where do you draw the line? Should the people of Sacramento, or Denver, or Dallas, or Boston also not be able to get new HD programming because a small percentage of the nation can't? No one is ever going to be happy...there's always going to be some channel/service that won't be available to 100% of the population. The 550ers are in a situation caused by either poor government handling of contracts, outdated franchise laws, or both. If no one is forcing Comcast to upgrade these areas and it doesn't make business sense for them to do so, I honestly can't blame them for not doing it. In their minds, it's like "throwing away money". I think the best thing anyone in these areas can do is make a stink, call your congressman/woman and make sure they vote to change the current franchise laws. You could try and ask for a short term solution and say "get rid of these analog channels to make more room" but what happens when that bandwidth dries up and new channels come out? You're right back where you started.

keenan

08-06-06, 03:27 PM

Not everyone can afford to do what Jim has done,
What Jim does borders on insanity/(stupidity?), I'm getting ready to activate my Star Choice HD sat system tomorrow. :p :D

In the next 3-4 months I'll be cutting off one or two of these services, probably DirecTV and Comcast.

jasonander

08-06-06, 03:33 PM

bobby94928

08-06-06, 03:41 PM

keenan

08-06-06, 03:41 PM

The 550ers are in a situation caused by either poor government handling of contracts, outdated franchise laws, or both.
It's a little more than that, it's been pretty well determined that Comcast is dragging it's feed while it waits for legislation to allow them to bypass the local authority altogether, which in my mind, will be disastrous for 550 areas.

550 areas are unlucky in that they were the cat's meow when Comcast bought into the bay area, so consequently these are the areas that have never had any major capital improvements made, Comcast brought all the older, lower bandwidth systems up to snuff instead.

550 systems constitute about 16% of bay area cities, I have no idea how that breaks down as far as sub counts, but Santa Rosa has about 66,000 Comcast subscribers.

fender4645

08-06-06, 03:43 PM

I just wanted to check if anyone has had any luck getting the 12.31 or 12.35 firmware for the 3412 DVR. I'm still stuck on 12.22 in Mountain View, and this version has multiple issues with its transport functions. When I call customer service, they don't even know what firmware is and are unable to help, except to suggest I swap the box, which I'd rather not do since I still have recordings to catch up on, and if I understand correctly, wouldn't even help because the firmware needs to be pushed from the local headend.

I think most of the Bay Area (if not all) is still at 12.22. AFAIK they haven't released 12.35 in our area so swapping boxes probably won't do you much good. I believe 'scanpa' on another thread said that it's up to each head-end to modify the code appropriately for their area and distribute. Maybe they're busy fielding calls from Jim and Mike and don't have time push the update (just kidding :D )

bobby94928

08-06-06, 03:47 PM

550 systems constitute about 16% of bay area cities, I have no idea how that breaks down as far as sub counts, but Santa Rosa has about 66,000 Comcast subscribers.

But how many are HD viewers? That's the bottom line. If there are 5% HD viewers, you are talking 3,300 out of 66,000. Can Comcast afford to lose 3300 subs in Santa Rosa? That would still leave them 62,700, not a bad count when you consider that HD doesn't bring much money to their table.

Just being a devil's advocate here, not advocating Comcast.

keenan

08-06-06, 04:07 PM

But how many are HD viewers? That's the bottom line. If there are 5% HD viewers, you are talking 3,300 out of 66,000. Can Comcast afford to lose 3300 subs in Santa Rosa? That would still leave them 62,700, not a bad count when you consider that HD doesn't bring much money to their table.

Just being a devil's advocate here, not advocating Comcast.
Oh, no doubt, it wouldn't surprise me if less than, maybe, a few hundred, maybe 1000 of that 66,000 were HD subs. We just don't matter.

fender4645

08-06-06, 04:08 PM

We just don't matter.

Yet....

keenan

08-06-06, 04:15 PM

Maybe they're busy fielding calls from Jim and Mike and don't have time push the update (just kidding :D )
I don't call, or visit the local office anymore, it's a waste of time, they don't respond anyway. I've got better things to do than waste my time on a company that can't be bothered to respond to their customers. Three times I was told a supervisor would contact me about the DVR situation, this was the result of visiting the office itself. They were given two phone numbers with which to reach me 24/7....nothing. One time I was told the supervisor wasn't in, I said I'd wait, then they told me he wouldn't be back for a few days. What other conclusion can I come to other than they don't want to talk to me and/or don't care what I have to say?

keenan

08-06-06, 04:16 PM

Yet....
I'm not getting any younger either though... :p

Mikef5

08-06-06, 07:07 PM

Ok, it seems I've opened a can of worms here and hit some nerves. All I was saying was " what if " Comcast was to do the same lineups every where. My point was you should care about what others don't get yet pay the same that you do with a much better line up. I am in no way saying this is what Comcast should do. What they should do is upgrade all the areas to the same level, if it means you take a minor loss in an small area then suck up the loss. I can remember when Comcast first started doing the upgrades it said that all areas would have to bear some increase in price to help off set the cost of the upgrades, yet I'm seeing very little return on my investment.

Bobby, you are right I can go to Dish and I will, I just found out where I can get the new dish 1000 plus so when baseball season ends I go to Dish for all my HD, Comcast will be taken down to basic as a backup to the satellite feed. The thing is, that doesn't mean I don't try to do something to get things changed on Comcast. If you really think that there is nothing you can do to get Comcast to change anything, then you are right, you've lost the battle before you start. If you don't try then you deserve what they give you, I for one am not satisfied and will still try and do what I can to get this changed.

That being said... I recently said that I hadn't heard from Mr. Johnson for a couple of months and that I'd become persona non grata. I was wrong.... ( boy, that's hard to say ) he never got my email and was waiting for an email from me, I should've followed up on the email but let it slip by, my mistake. Anyway, he has always been straight with me and I think he was blind sided by Comcast's decision not to upgrade our area. I base that on conversations I've had with other sources that seem to support that. Now, with the franchise deals up in the air, I'm sure Comcast will stall any major upgrades until that is settled. So here we sit....... waiting.

Laters,
Mikef5

Bill

08-06-06, 11:14 PM

So I called this morning and asked if it was possible to get them to switch me over to digital signal for SD channels, CSR insisted the only way to do this was to go get a 3412 (I am in Lafayette and have 2 6412 IIIs).

Is it right to assume that my PQ will be better on the SD channels if I switch to digital feed?

Is it worth calling back and asking for someone else or should I just go exchange one of the 6412s for a 3412 next week?
Thanks!
If you want good SD quality go to Dish. Comcast's Digital SDs suck! They maybe worse than their analog channels and those are pretty bad. Wow, did I not know how bad Comcast is till I got Dish.

nikeykid

08-07-06, 11:30 AM

from the programming thread

Comcast to Add Universal HD
High-def channel features NBC produced programs.
Special to TVPredictions.com

Washington, D.C. (August 4, 2006) -- Comcast this month is scheduled to add Universal HD in Philadelphia and several other cities, TVPredictions.com has learned.

The high-def channel, which features sports, movies and TV programs produced by NBC Universal such as Quantum Leap and Century City, was added to Comcast's lineup prior to the 2006 Winter Olympics in February.

However, in most markets, the channel was pulled after the Olympic coverage was completed. (Universal HD aired HD broadcasts of the Olympics from its sister network, NBC.)

But Comcast is planning to bring the channel back in selected markets as early as August 15. At presstime, other than Philadelphia, the names of the selected markets could not be determined,

Comcast last month began rolling out MHD, MTV's new high-def channel, in selected cities.

beating a dead horse, but we're not gonna get this one back are we? we're not "selected markets" most of the time.

keenan

08-07-06, 03:47 PM

No, the bay area is in the de-selected column, you know, like one of those greyed out check boxes where no matter how many times you click, or however you configure the software, it just won't allow you to select it. Nope, sorry, you can't do that, it's not for you, try back again when we decide to care about you. :D

lmsyl

08-07-06, 04:08 PM

For ADS, is there anyone konws if Comcast encodes it with Analog feed or uses the digital copy from off-air?
It looks to me the ADS version is worse than the off-air digital from the ATSC tuner. Maybe they compress it too much to fit into the bandwidth.

greeno

08-07-06, 05:41 PM

Last night I noticed that the 6200 (HD non-dvr box) in the bedroom didn't have *any* guide info. Every entry was "not available". the 3412 shows guide info. Why would one box loose guide while the other does not? What can I do to get it back? I did note that the 6200 is using 256QAM on "analog" stations. this means it's using ADS?

bobby94928

08-07-06, 06:41 PM

jgiants

08-07-06, 06:59 PM

I E-Mail Mr. Johnson this is what he said

We have started the process to build a new fiber-optic network with additional capacity for
new services, including On Demand, more high-definition channels and Comcast Digital Voice
in Antioch, Pittsburg and Bay Point. Work is already underway in Antioch, we will move to
Pittsburg next and finish up with Bay Point. The entire process should take one year.

Mikef5 dont know if Mr. Johnson said the same thing to Mikef5 in Malpitas

usc10

I am in antioch myself so that is good news, shows they are upgrading atleast one 550mhz system in the bay area, I assume it will be going to 860mhz? Wonder how long till antioch itself will see the changeover or if it will have to wait for the headend work to be also done that services all 3 of those cities.

usc10

08-07-06, 11:19 PM

I am in antioch myself so that is good news, shows they are upgrading atleast one 550mhz system in the bay area, I assume it will be going to 860mhz? Wonder how long till antioch itself will see the changeover or if it will have to wait for the headend work to be also done that services all 3 of those cities.

Jgiants wright now your on the pittsburg headend. antioch is going to get a new headend but dont know if there going to rebuild to 750/850. just have to wait see in nov/dec.

just getting tierd of waiting here pittsburg. cant get dishnetwork here where
i live there is big hill that blocks view if could get dishnetwork i would have left
comcast a long time ago.

usc10

keenan

08-07-06, 11:49 PM

Mikef5

08-08-06, 02:17 AM

Watched the Giants game tonight on KTVU ( like I would watch anything else :) ) and the picture was really well done, checked both Comcast and OTA. From the sounds of it Cox is doing their own productions now with the help of Comcast and it looks like the next couple of games on KTVU are going to be HD also. Nice to see they got the funding to do the games in HD without having to wait for Fox to put the Giants on the national schedule. Hopefully, they will do much more sports in HD, like football season is coming, 49er's in HD, I could live with that.... :D

Laters,
Mikef5

fender4645

08-08-06, 02:33 AM

Mikef5

08-08-06, 02:48 AM

Agreed. PQ was great.
The final score was great too .... :p

Laters,
Mikef5

nikeykid

08-08-06, 02:50 AM

Mikef5

08-08-06, 02:59 AM

wth, the giants game was in HD? someone please alert me when ktvu is showing an HD game, its so rare.
Alert, tomorrow's game is in Hd

Laters,
Mikef5

nikeykid

08-08-06, 03:00 AM

Alert, tomorrow's game is in Hd

Laters,
Mikef5

and when else? also they are playing in arizona, are they not producing the feed? or how does it work, i thought it was easier to provide an HD feed locally thru lines

Mikef5

08-08-06, 03:21 AM

and when else? also they are playing in arizona, are they not producing the feed? or how does it work, i thought it was easier to provide an HD feed locally thru lines
Google is your friend :)
Comcast has deep pockets
They have this new thing called satellites which does away with those long lines from Arizona :D
Yes, I've been up to long and yes I'm being facetious

During the game they flashed up the new schedule and the only ones I rememeber are the next 2 games on KTVU will be HD, so will the one on FSNBA, probably channel 720.

Laters,
Mikef5

nikeykid

08-08-06, 11:49 AM

i wonder why its taken them so long this year to get an HD feed, and that it is a road game no less... you'd think ktvu could more easily broadcast HD from at&t.

Mikef5

08-08-06, 12:09 PM

Just got this from the Yahoo HDTV group

Giants schedule

KTVU HD schedule

KTVU games in HD:
8/8 @ Arizona 6:30p
8/14 @ San Diego 7p
8/15 @ San Diego 7p
8/18 vs Dodgers 7p
8/22 vs Arizona 7p
9/15 @ St. Louis 5p
9/18 @ Rockies 5:30p
9/26 vs Arizona 7pm
9/29 vs Dodgers 7pm

Don't know how accurrate it is but it's a start

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-08-06, 12:15 PM

Those Sept airings may conflict with the FOX fall TV season, something to keep in mind.

Mikef5

08-08-06, 12:25 PM

Those Sept airings may conflict with the FOX fall TV season, something to keep in mind.
Like I said, may not be too accurate, but if you're a Giants fan, then it's a start ;) . The only real way to get an up to date schedule of games on KTVU is from KTVU but they use Titan and they're always slow to update their schedules. Best way is to watch the game today and see if John Miller shows the new schedule again and do a frame capture to read the darn thing :)

Laters,
Mikef5

Mikef5

08-08-06, 12:58 PM

i wonder why its taken them so long this year to get an HD feed, and that it is a road game no less... you'd think ktvu could more easily broadcast HD from at&t.
The local Fox Network is not Fox but Cox Broadcasting an affiliate station. They had no production equipment for producing their own HD, they relied on Fox the mother station for those HD feeds which meant we only see the Giants in HD on Cox when Fox broadcasts them nationally. It seems Comcast has helped with the production costs for Cox so now they can do their own production work. So hopefully we will be seeing more HD from our local network and more locally produced HD. I emailed KTVU to see if this is what's happened so I'll let you know if they respond.

Laters,
Mikef5

bobby94928

08-08-06, 01:01 PM

We've had those conflicts before and KTVU aired the Fox shows on their sister station, KICU, channel 36.

leftheaded

08-08-06, 01:07 PM

Mikef5

08-08-06, 01:18 PM

Leftheaded,

Here's a forum link for your questions on TV's
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=63

They can give you lots of things to think about and wish you had more money for :D

Laters,
Mikef5

fender4645

08-08-06, 01:22 PM

Those Sept airings may conflict with the FOX fall TV season, something to keep in mind.

Doesn't FOX usually delay their Fall primetime until late October? I remember them doing that since they took over the baseball post-season.

TPeterson

08-08-06, 01:26 PM

Leftheaded--

And if projectors aren't your bag (they ain't mine!), you can try this forum: Plasma and LCD Flat Panel Displays (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=40).

P.S.: The Sharp LC37D90U, available at Fry's in your price range and satisfying your listed req'ts, looks pretty good to me.

fender4645

08-08-06, 02:08 PM

hi, i'm new here and have a ton of questions. these forums seem like a labyrinth and i'm not sure where to post stuff... so i'll start here :)

i'm in the process of moving from san francisco to alameda. we just signed up for comcast "triple play" (phone, tv, & internet)... woohoo!!

comcast told me they only send one type of DVR now, and its HD. not sure which model it is? is alameda up to date on all the infrastructure? is there anything i need to request now? installation is friday 8/11 :D

ps - i'm actually going to try to buy a "true 1080p" LCD before the installation since i don't have HD yet. my plan is to use the LCD with this comcast HD-DVR, PS2/3, xbox, and HTPC. it's important for me that it

1) display 1080p
2) have several inputs for 1080p (PC, DVR, consoles)
3) not overscan (need 1:1 pixel mapping)

can anyone recommend a display around the 40" range, and around $2000 (but under $2500)?

thanks a ton! i have lots of research to do asap! :) :cool: :D :eek:

AFAIK there are very few 1080p TV's that are under $2500 (the Westinghouse comes to mind). For your #2 and #3 issues, you'll want to make sure it has more then one HDMI/DVI input. In order to get the 1:1 mapping on your HTPC, you'll most likely need DVI -- not VGA. And because most video cards don't natively support LCD TV resolutions, you'll need a program like Powerstrip to get the custom timings. My LCD only has one DVI so I use that for the HTPC and just use component for the Comcast Moto DVR (not ideal but it works).

walk

08-08-06, 02:38 PM

The newer Nvidia drivers have HDTV support builtin for the Geforce 6xxx and 7xxxx series cards. You just plug and go, it's great. I have a HTPC using a GF 6800GT and it just worked the first time I plugged in the DVI-D... the drivers recognized my Sony TV as 1080i and boom, away we go. A lot of resolutions are supported including 1080i and 1080p. The Motorola boxes won't display 1080p but the TV will probably deinterlace 1080i.

The Giants game last night was the first in HD for KTVU. The next HD game won't be until next week or so - that schedule above looks pretty accurate, according to my memory... the one tonight will not be HD, I don't think.

Like Fox, KTVU is using 720p (1280x720) and I was able to capture it via Firewire (no 5c). Looks really amazing on the computer screen (progressive scan) but less impressive than the FSN/INHD games (in 1080i) on my 1080i HDTV. At least they (KTVU) are not copy protecting it.

leftheaded

08-08-06, 02:58 PM

The Motorola boxes won't display 1080p but the TV will probably deinterlace 1080i.

is there another option for the motorola HD-DVR? third party maybe? and should i be concerned with downgraded image from comcast? hell, coming from old school TV, i'll probably be drooling either way ;)

Like Fox, KTVU is using 720p (1280x720) and I was able to capture it via Firewire (no 5c). Looks really amazing on the computer screen (progressive scan) but less impressive than the FSN/INHD games (in 1080i) on my 1080i HDTV.

curious, what is your setup that you can capture via firewire? no DVR? i'm starting with a clean slate (and emtpy house). this is something i'll want to figure out how to do as my DVR fills up (transfer/capture onto PC).

i can't wait for HD games on a big LCD!! :cool:

nikeykid

08-08-06, 03:09 PM

is there another option for the motorola HD-DVR? third party maybe? and should i be concerned with downgraded image from comcast? hell, coming from old school TV, i'll probably be drooling either way ;)

curious, what is your setup that you can capture via firewire? no DVR? i'm starting with a clean slate (and emtpy house). this is something i'll want to figure out how to do as my DVR fills up (transfer/capture onto PC).

i can't wait for HD games on a big LCD!! :cool:

is there really a downgrade?? HD broadcasts don't go to 1080p, so comcast lets you see the picture "unmolested" as they say on the programming forum. also, if you have human eyes, its really really hard to distinguish between 1080i and 1080p. hell, 720p looks great to me.

fender4645

08-08-06, 03:45 PM

fender4645

08-08-06, 03:49 PM

is there really a downgrade?? HD broadcasts don't go to 1080p, so comcast lets you see the picture "unmolested" as they say on the programming forum. also, if you have human eyes, its really really hard to distinguish between 1080i and 1080p. hell, 720p looks great to me.

Yeah, no broadcaster is sending out 1080p signals so no matter what he gets, it's going to be de-interlaced. You will, however, see 1080p if you invest in an HD-DVD or BluRay player. But I agree, going from 480i/p to 780p/1080i is a much bigger step then going from 780p/1080i to 1080p.

keenan

08-08-06, 03:59 PM

We've had those conflicts before and KTVU aired the Fox shows on their sister station, KICU, channel 36.
That's what I was referring to. :)
I'm sure the schedule is correct but being that KTVU is an affiliate they would probably choose to go with their local broadcast over a network program.

fender4645

08-08-06, 04:07 PM

icurious, what is your setup that you can capture via firewire? no DVR? i'm starting with a clean slate (and emtpy house). this is something i'll want to figure out how to do as my DVR fills up (transfer/capture onto PC).

The Moto DVR Comcasts ships has FireWire out. Directions on how to use this can be found here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=403695

Be leary of the 5c flag though...

keenan

08-08-06, 04:09 PM

Doesn't FOX usually delay their Fall primetime until late October? I remember them doing that since they took over the baseball post-season.
Yes, they do play around with it, the below is from the HOTP thread,

Fox: Fall
(All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY
8 Prison Break HD August 21
9 Vanished HD August 21

TUESDAY
8 Standoff HD September 5
9 House HD September 5

WEDNESDAY
8 Bones HD August 30
9 Justice HD August 30

THURSDAY
8 ‘Til Death HD September 7
8:30 Happy Hour HD September 7
9 Duets HD Premiere 8-10 PM August 31; Time period premiere September 7
9 The O.C HD November 2

FRIDAY
8 Nanny 911 September 8
9 Duet (Results Show) September 8
9 Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy October 6

SATURDAY
8 Cops September 9
8:30 Cops September 9
9 America’s Most Wanted-America Strikes Back September 9
11 PM MADtv September 16
Midnight Talk Show with Spike Ferensten September 16

SUNDAY
7 Football Overrun (Comedy Encores) September 10
7:30 Football Overrun (Comedy Encores) September 10
8 The Simpsons September 10
8:30 American Dad September 10
9 Family Guy September 10
9:30 The War At Home HD September 10

keenan

08-08-06, 04:15 PM

So they support common LCD TV resolutions such as 1366x768?
I can confirm what Walk says about the Nvidia drivers, when I plugged my card into a DVDO VP30 video processor it recognized it right off the bat, surprised the heck out of me. There's some pretty extensive controls for HDTV output with the Nvidia.

I don't know about that particular setting, but I bet that it does, if not, I think you can create your own easily. Haven't spent too much time with it yet.

mr. wally

08-08-06, 04:30 PM

Just a mention about Dish's local HD PQ. Watching the Giants on KTVU and Dish has come a long ways since I first started getting their local HD, compared to Comcast it is almost indistinguishable between the two. Very impressive. Is the maybe 5% difference in Comcast PG over Dish worth it to stay with Comcast? Individual choice, but for me, it's no contest when you add up the whole ball of wax. Comcast in my house is hanging by the thinnest of threads, at this point it's only a backup to make sure that Dish continues moving in the direction they have been without any hiccups.

i'm about ready to buy my 1080p tv and need to figure out who provides the best quality hd service in my area, los gatos. comcast has not upgraded our area. i'm with direct currrently, but i understand their hd services are extremely limited or non-existant. do you think dish's pq is adequate. is it 720p or 1080i signal? dish certainly has the most hd channels to offer as comcast only has 8-10 available in our area including ota. thanks for any input

keenan

08-08-06, 06:44 PM

i'm about ready to buy my 1080p tv and need to figure out who provides the best quality hd service in my area, los gatos. comcast has not upgraded our area. i'm with direct currrently, but i understand their hd services are extremely limited or non-existant. do you think dish's pq is adequate. is it 720p or 1080i signal? dish certainly has the most hd channels to offer as comcast only has 8-10 available in our area including ota. thanks for any input
Dish's PQ is certainly adequate now since they have been working on it, it was bad when it first went live, but lately, it's starting to look very good, I couldn't really tell any difference between the Comcast KTVU and Dish KTVU during yesterday's Giants game.

I suggest you try and go see what Comcast looks like and also what Dish looks like yourself as it can be a very individual thing, especially when it comes to channel offerings, although, the only channel Comcast has over Dish currently is FSNBA-HD, KQED-HD and I think Comcast has Cinemax??

It depends on your budget also, off the top of my head, I would find out if your area has FSNBA-HD, and if it does and you want HD local sports, I would get a Basic sub from Comcast which is about $20. Then I would add Dish and for around $80 or so you'll get every HD channel they have but 1 or 2 of them, I think, can't remember I think NGEO requires a higher package--you should check at the Dish site.

Currently, for me, the PQ on Dish has reached the point that the difference, if any, is not worth keeping Comcast, the additional HD programming far outweighs any small PQ improvement that might be had with Comcast.

It would be nice to have someone say "this is what you should get", but I can't do that and I doubt anyone else here would either because, as I said, a lot depends on the individual.

I think if you ask some of the members here they might invite you over to see what Comcast looks like and what they offer. With Dish that might be a little more difficult as I believe there are far fewer of us currently. You can try the below thread and ask if anyone is in your area and if they wouldn't mind given you a demonstration.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8154106#post8154106
San Francisco, CA - DBS - AVS Forum

You might mention some cross streets in Los Gatos as I believe it has more than one system running in that area, that will help other members give you particulars on what is available.

walk

08-08-06, 06:56 PM

fender4645

08-08-06, 07:07 PM

The Nvidia drivers have builtin settings for the common HD modes (incl. 540p). The 720p setting is 1280x720, if you want 1:1 pixel mapping on a 1366x768 panel you'll probably have to create your own setting, but I think it lets you do that, I just haven't tried.

Yeah, in order to do 1:1 on a 1366x768 TV, you have to go to either 1368 or 1360. Not sure why LCD manufacturers chose this resoluction. On my HTPC I have it set to 1360x768 which, of course, produces a very small overscan of 6 pixels around the picture. On my 32" TV, I don't notice it at all unless I'm looking for it.

leftheaded

08-08-06, 07:17 PM

I started a topic and it was immediately closed. no explanations.. and i have no clue why or where to post ... anyway. i'm trying to find out if alameda's service is comparable to comcast.

ps - if this question is out of bounds please help me post this in the proper forums. thanks. send me a PM or something. don't just close/delete my posts.. thanks

pps - Here's my orignal post (now closed):
Anyone here use Alameda Power & Telecom for TV or internet? It looks like they have a good HD lineup.

I just ordered Comcast yesterday. Today I called APT to turn on my electricity, and they made a pretty good offer for TV and internet for 1 year. Also, they have an HD dual tuner/receiver: Motorola 6412 (same as Comcast I think) for $8/mo

I was wondering how reliable is the service? Quality the same as comcast? Is this just a matter of channel selection and price?

Thanks!

cornellalum

08-08-06, 07:59 PM

keenan

08-08-06, 08:02 PM

fender4645

08-08-06, 08:05 PM

I have a OTA and QAM HDTV tuner but only use the OTA setting right now. From the first post I read that Comcast will rent you a set top box if you subscribe to their $5 HDTV service. Since I already have a QAM-capable tuner, do I need to pay this fee? Also, if I need a specific type of QAM tuner please let me know. If it matters, I'm thinking about subscribing to Basic + HDTV service.

Also, I found the information in the first post very informative, although outdated. Is there a new post/webpage with updated information?

If you want to watch encrypted channels then you'll need to "rent" the CableCARD. If all you're interested in is broadcast TV (NBC, CBS, ABC, KQED) then you should be fine.

keenan

08-08-06, 08:07 PM

I have a OTA and QAM HDTV tuner but only use the OTA setting right now. From the first post I read that Comcast will rent you a set top box if you subscribe to their $5 HDTV service. Since I already have a QAM-capable tuner, do I need to pay this fee? Also, if I need a specific type of QAM tuner please let me know. If it matters, I'm thinking about subscribing to Basic + HDTV service.

Also, I found the information in the first post very informative, although outdated. Is there a new post/webpage with updated information?

Whatever info is wrong, or needs to be updated in the first post, please make a posting of the info and we can get a mod to update the first post. We started to do this awhile ago, or at least asked, and there didn't seem to be much enthusiasm.

Mikef5

08-08-06, 08:36 PM

KTVU has posted the HD schedule for the Giants games on their sports page and it looks like the guy that posted the info on the Yahoo group is correct here's the link to check it out
http://www.ktvu.com/sports/9649370/detail.html

Still haven't heard anything from my email to them to see if this is going to carry over to the football season.

Laters,
Mikef5

nikeykid

08-08-06, 08:44 PM

Mikef5

08-08-06, 08:47 PM

what football games would be exclusively KTVU?
KTVU is the home channel for the 49er's

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-08-06, 08:47 PM

What parts of the below post need to be updated? I know ESPN2HD needs to be added but I'm not sure what else. The FW versions are out of date. The info on Solano-Vacaville area is out of date as well I believe. KRON needs to be shown as a MYNetwork affiliate. What else??? I think the easiest way would be to quote this post and insert your changes/additions. Then we can proof the final post and get the first post of the thread updated.
............................................................ ............................................................ ...............

Starting a new thread for posts regarding Comcast HDTV service in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose Bay Area. (This covers San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties.)

To summarize status as of August, 2006:

HD Channels:

702 KTVU-DT (FOX) (starting January 2005)
703 KNTV-DT (NBC)
704 KRON-DT (Indp) (shows old HDNet material)
705 KPIX-DT (CBS)
707 KGO-DT (ABC)
709 KQED-DT (PBS) (on air 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.)

719 INHD (encrypted in most areas)
720 INHD2 (encrypted in most areas)
720 FSN Bay Area HD (some Warriors, A's and Giants games inserted onto 720, pre-empting INHD2 programming) FSN Bay Area Website-- HD Schedule (http://www.fsnbayarea.com/hd/)
722 Discovery HD Theater
723 ESPN HD (encrypted in most areas)
725 HD Special Events
-- NFL Channel HD (NFL Game of the Week, Weds. and Thurs. Evenings)
-- INHD programming (third INHD feed) whenever NBA game is on INHD
-- Other HD programming TBA

*724 ESPN2 HD (encrypted)
730 HBO HD West (encrypted)
732 Cinemax HD West (encrypted)
734 Starz HD West (encrypted)
736 Showtime HD West (encrypted)

Note re encryption: This varies from one head end to the next. Some premiums and/or ESPN HD and/or InHD may be unencrypted in your area, but that will change as soon as Comcast gets all the necessary equipment to encrypt. Only the local HD channels will be "in the clear" once all the head ends have the proper equipment.

Note re ADS: ADS, or Analog-Digital Simulcasting, is when the analog channels are duplicated as digital subchannels. This allows for cheaper, smaller digital boxes as the analog tuner is not needed. ADS also eliminates the need for MPEG encoders in the DVR's. The primary advantage is the elimination of interference typically associated with analog signals.

Most 750/850MHz systems in the Bay Area have implemented ADS. The surest way of obtaining the digital versions of the analog channels is to incorporate at least one Motorola 3412 STB in your household. Once the headend receives the signal that you're in an "ADS-ready" area, your other STB's will automatically start using the digital channels. To find out if you're receiving the digital channels, tune both of your tuners to channel 2, go in to the diagnostics menu, and go to "d06 CURRENT CHANNEL STATUS". If both tuners say 'QAM 256" then you're receiving the digital version of the channel. If they say "Analog" then you are receiving the analog version of the channel.

Note re 550 Mhz systems: Not all (or any) HD channels may be available in some Bay Area systems because they are not yet "rebuilt" to either 750 mHz or 860 mHz and thus have less bandwidth to devote to HDTV. These systems are located in, among other areas, Hayward, Saratoga, Milpitas, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale (part), Santa Rosa and Vallejo. On these systems you will NOT get: INHD, INHD2, FSN Bay Area HD, Showtime HD, KRON HD and/or HD Special Events.

Note re parts of Solano County: No HD local channels are available in parts of Solano County (Fairfield, Vacaville) despite Comcast having enough bandwidth to add those channels. The reason for this is not currently public known.

HD Capable Set Top Box/Firmware:

Motorola 5100 and Motorola 6200

The 6200 has a faster processor and two firewire (IEEE 1394) ports.

Firmware 7.15 (7.10 in some areas). DVI and Firewire are activated with both versions but are more stable and user friendly with 7.15.

Current software is 51.88-2002.

See the rest of the thread, below, or the 5100/6200 thread in the HDTV Hardware forum for more specific information.

HD-DVR/Software:

Motorola 6412-- first became available in December 2004. (6208 was originally projected to be available November/December 2003). Costs extra $9.95 per month (or $4.95 per month more than a non-DVR HD STB rental from Comcast) above what you are otherwise paying for now.

Software for the HD DVR the iGuide, by Guideworks (a joint venture of Comcast and Gemstar-TV Guide) with the potential for Microsoft Foundation Edition at some point in the future. Software for all other HD boxes will eventually be the iGuide but has not yet been downloaded to them as of February 17, 2005.

Current firmware version for the 6412:

Current software version for the 6412: 71.44 1203 (revision should be coming in the next couple of months)

*Motorola 6412 PIII--same as 6412 listed above but has HDMI video output vs DVI for the above 6412.

*Current firmware version for the 6412-PIII: 12.31

*Motorola 3412--same as 6412 PIII only it has no analog tuner. The 3412 is a digital-only DVR and can be used only on systems where ADS has been implemented.

*Current firmware version for the 3412: 12.22

Costs:

Limited basic cable, which is required for all subscriptions, ranges from $9 to $17 per month depending on your area. HD STB rental (non-DVR) is $5 per month. To get INHD and ESPN HD, if encrypted, you need Digital Classic tier at $9.95 per month. Premium HD channels, if encrypted, are received with any a la carte or package subscription that includes the SD versions of those channels.

*HD-DVR (6412-3412) cost: $4.95 more per month than the standard HD STB. To be eligible to rent the DVR you must have a subscription to Standard Cable and at least Digital Classic--average cost--$57

I will update this summary as information changes. If anyone has different or updated information to the above, please post it to this thread and I will incorporate it.

Mikef5

08-08-06, 08:53 PM

Current firmware version for the 6412: 9.15.
I have firmware version 12.31
software is the same as listed

I do get INHD, INHD2, FSN Bay Area HD so I imagine the rest of SaraMilgatos get those. Don't get anything above 723 and still don't get Video On Demand.

ESPN2-HD is on channel 724 on some areas... not mine ;)

Anything above 719 is encrypted. Actually, everything is encrypted except the analog channels and channels 702 through 709.

Laters,
Mikef5

Mikef5

08-08-06, 09:32 PM

nikeykid,

Alert, Alert, Giants in HD, now playing on channel 702 :p :D

I'm gone......

Laters,
Mikef5

nikeykid

08-08-06, 09:33 PM

KTVU is the home channel for the 49er's

Laters,
Mikef5

but the feed is from FOX, not ktvu, so of course ktvu will pass on the feed as they did last year. i'm not following :(

nikeykid

08-08-06, 09:36 PM

nikeykid,

Alert, Alert, Giants in HD, now playing on channel 702 :p :D

I'm gone......

Laters,
Mikef5

ty. pq looks great.

well maybe its cuz ktvu is at 720p, but fsn hd looks a little sharper.

walk

08-08-06, 10:07 PM

SAN FRANCISCO -- KTVU Channel 2 has announced 10 games to be telecast in HD the remainder of the season.

Here's the dates:

8/7 Giants @ Arizona

8/8 Giants @ Arizona >

8/14 Giants @ SD

8/15 Giants @ SD

8/18 Dodgers @ Giants

8/22 Dbacks @ Giants

9/15 Giants @ St. Louis

9/18 Giants @ Colorado

9/26 Dbacks @ Giants

9/29 Dodgers @ Giants

(Channel 702 for Comcast sub'ers).

cornellalum

08-09-06, 12:54 AM

Whatever info is wrong, or needs to be updated in the first post, please make a posting of the info and we can get a mod to update the first post. We started to do this awhile ago, or at least asked, and there didn't seem to be much enthusiasm.

Thanks for taking the initiative to get the post updated. Given the old timestamp of Feb 17 2005 I thought that certainly some things must have changed since then. I think you hit upon most of my concerns ... updated channels, updated hardware, and updated firmware. Hopefully you'll see some corrections from the AVS community and the first post will be updated soon. It makes it easier for the newbies to this thread (e.g. me!) to get information without asking the same questions in this thread that have already been covered. Thanks again keenan.

cornellalum

08-09-06, 01:02 AM

I haven't read all 380 pages of this thread (and certainly don't plan to!), but I found a very informative post by Chandu1 on this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8148023&&#post8148023) that lists the channel mappings for Comcast's set top boxes and generic HDTV tuners. A link to his post from the first post will be useful to many, IMO.

fender4645

08-09-06, 01:04 AM

Mikef5

08-09-06, 01:23 AM

but the feed is from FOX, not ktvu, so of course ktvu will pass on the feed as they did last year. i'm not following :(
I'm waiting on an email to clear that up. If you watched KTVU news last night they implied that they ( Cox ) were doing the HD production and not Fox. You do realize that the local channel 2 is not Fox but Cox Broadcasting an affiliate station?? From the way they made it sound was that Comcast was funding the HD production just like they do for FSN Bay Area. I'll let you know what they say if they respond.

Laters,
Mikef5

fender4645

08-09-06, 01:25 AM

keenan

08-09-06, 01:34 AM

I have firmware version 12.31
software is the same as listed

I do get INHD, INHD2, FSN Bay Area HD so I imagine the rest of SaraMilgatos get those. Don't get anything above 723 and still don't get Video On Demand.

ESPN2-HD is on channel 724 on some areas... not mine ;)

Anything above 719 is encrypted. Actually, everything is encrypted except the analog channels and channels 702 through 709.

Laters,
Mikef5
Is the FW the same for both the PII and the PIII DVRs?

I made some changes/additions in the post, they are noted by an asterisk next to line changed. Please check and confirm.

Could someone give a brief, concise description of ADS to put in the post, and maybe the areas where ADS is available? I'll copy and paste it.

I'll be doing more on the post later on in the next couple of days

Mikef5

08-09-06, 01:38 AM

Both my 6412's are Phase III boxes, don't know about the Phase II boxes.
So my firmware is based on those boxes.

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-09-06, 01:38 AM

keenan

08-09-06, 01:41 AM

Don't forget to mention the 3412 as well (not sure when it was first made available). I'm still at 12.22 firmware.
Done.

Mikef5

08-09-06, 01:42 AM

OOPS,
I did one mistake. We do get one channel above 723 and that is 730 HBO-HD, our only HD movie channel... ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-09-06, 01:44 AM

The problem is the Comcast moves these around from time to time. It may not still be accurate.
Maybe someone could put together a brief paragraph about QAM channel mapping? Nothing too intense, but obviously mentioning that Comcast moves them around...

keenan

08-09-06, 01:48 AM

The software versions generally relates to the menu software correct? Do we really need to list that? I'll put it in there if folks will give what's current on each model.

(this is a pain in the butt!!! :p :p )

keenan

08-09-06, 01:53 AM

OOPS,
I did one mistake. We do get one channel above 723 and that is 730 HBO-HD, our only HD movie channel... ;)

Laters,
Mikef5
I'm not going to break down what channels are available in each local, I'll just put a disclaimer, in large bold type, that Comcast is a bunch of cheap asses and haven't upgraded all areas so even though you pay the same, your neighbor will have more channels than you.

That would cover it, you think..? :D :D :D

fender4645

08-09-06, 02:09 AM

Could someone give a brief, concise description of ADS to put in the post, and maybe the areas where ADS is available? I'll copy and paste it.

I'll do this and PM it to you.

Mikef5

08-09-06, 02:10 AM

I'm not going to break down what channels are available in each local, I'll just put a disclaimer, in large bold type, that Comcast is a bunch of cheap asses and haven't upgraded all areas so even though you pay the same, your neighbor will have more channels than you.

That would cover it, you think..? :D :D :D
You know after watching the news tonight, there is actually a company that is much worse than Comcast. BP ( British Petroleum ) the bozo's that had the rusted oil pipeline break in Alaska, admitted that they hadn't inspected that pipe in 14 years, but still posted major record profits. Rust doesn't happen over night, so what did they do for those 14 years ?? Not do proper maintenance but sure made their investors happy and put the screws to the gas prices. So when I think about it, I guess it could be worse, I don't know how :p but it could.

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-09-06, 02:12 AM

I'll do this and PM it to you.
Much thanks.

keenan

08-09-06, 02:45 AM

San Francisco Bay Area Comcast Information
============================================================ ==============

This thread contains posts regarding Comcast HDTV service in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose Bay Area. (This covers San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Sonoma, and Napa counties.)

For Solano County see note below.

To summarize status as of August, 2006:

HD Channels:

Note: Not all channels are available everywhere. Check with your local Comcast office, or better yet, post the question here as you will get the most accurate, up to date, information from this group. Having a location/city in your profile helps tremendously.

702 KTVU-DT (FOX) 720p & DD 5.1
703 KNTV-DT (NBC) 1080i & DD 5.1
704 KRON-DT (MyTV) 1080i
705 KPIX-DT (CBS) 1080i & DD 5.1
707 KGO-DT (ABC) 720p & DD 5.1
709 KQED-DT (PBS) (on air 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.) 1080i & DD 5.1

719 INHD (encrypted in most areas) 1080i
720 INHD2 (encrypted in most areas) 1080i (FSNBA-HD see note below)

FSN Bay Area HD (some Warriors, A's and Giants games inserted onto 720, pre-empting INHD2 programming) FSN Bay Area Website-- HD Schedule (http://fsnbayarea.com/FSNHD.jsp)

722 Discovery HD Theater 1080i & DD 5.1
723 ESPN HD (encrypted in most areas) 720p & DD 5.1
725 ESPN2 HD (encrypted) 720p & DD 5.1
HD Special Events
-- NFL Channel HD (NFL Game of the Week, Weds. and Thurs. Evenings)
-- INHD programming (third INHD feed) whenever NBA game is on INHD
-- Other HD programming TBA

730 HBO HD West (encrypted) 1080i & DD 5.1
732 Cinemax HD West (encrypted) 1080i & DD 5.1
734 Starz HD West (encrypted) 1080i & DD 5.1
736 Showtime HD West (encrypted) 1080i & DD 5.1

Note re encryption: This varies from one head end to the next. Some premiums and/or ESPN HD and/or InHD may be unencrypted in your area, but that will change as soon as Comcast gets all the necessary equipment to encrypt. Only the local HD channels will be "in the clear" once all the head ends have the proper equipment.

Note re ADS: ADS, or Analog-Digital Simulcasting, is when the analog channels are duplicated as digital subchannels. This allows for cheaper, smaller digital boxes as the analog tuner is not needed. ADS also eliminates the need for MPEG encoders in the DVR's. The primary advantage is the elimination of interference typically associated with analog signals.

Most 750/850MHz systems in the Bay Area have implemented ADS. The surest way of obtaining the digital versions of the analog channels is to incorporate at least one Motorola 3412 STB in your household. Once the headend receives the signal that you're in an "ADS-ready" area, your other STB's will automatically start using the digital channels. To find out if you're receiving the digital channels, tune both of your tuners to channel 2, go in to the diagnostics menu, and go to "d06 CURRENT CHANNEL STATUS". If both tuners say 'QAM 256" then you're receiving the digital version of the channel. If they say "Analog" then you are receiving the analog version of the channel.

Note re 550 Mhz systems: Not all (or any) HD channels may be available in some Bay Area systems because they are not yet "rebuilt" to either 750 mHz or 860 mHz and thus have less bandwidth to devote to HDTV. As it stands August 2006, there doesn't appear to be any plans to upgrade these systems to bring parity with the rest of the SF bay area. The prevailing assumption is that as we move closer to the analog OTA shutdown date, Comcast will be moving analog channels to digital, and thus, freeing up bandwidth for more channels and services on these systems. This looks to be a long and slow process covering years so don't expect anything new to appear on these systems anytime soon. On these systems you will NOT get: INHD*, INHD2,* FSN Bay Area HD*, Showtime HD, KRON HD and/or HD Special Events among others depending on the particular system.

But, you will pay the same rates as subscribers who do receive the full complement of channels and services. This is an inequity that Comcast, to date, has not addressed and continues to remain silent on.

These systems are located in, among other areas,

Antioch
Hayward
Los Gatos
Milpitas
Pittsburg
San Leandro
San Lorenzo
Santa Rosa
Saratoga
Sunnyvale(parts)
Vallejo

* INHD and INHD2 are available in areas of Saratoga, Milpitas and Los Gatos even though these are primarily 550 Mhz systems.

Note: Solano County. Information obtained from Comcast subscriber heyjjjaded in Vacaville.

1. Our local HD channels are all out of Sacramento
2. Unlike Sacramento though, all of our HD channels are in the 700's (the way they are in San Francisco)
3. We get standard network non-HD channels (NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox) from both Sacramento & San Francisco
4. The 800 telephone number on our Comcast brochure puts us through to the bay area
5. Our HD problems (break-ups, audio-drops, failure to switch from INHD2 to FSN HD) almost always coincide with the same problems reported by the Sacramento customers

For further Sacramento information, see the Sacramento Comcast Thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8175752#post8175752)

HD Capable Set Top Box/Firmware:

Motorola 5100 and Motorola 6200

The 6200 has a faster processor and two firewire (IEEE 1394) ports.

Firmware 7.15 (7.10 in some areas). DVI and Firewire are activated with both versions but are more stable and user friendly with 7.15.

Current software is 51.88-2002.

See the rest of the thread, below, or the 5100/6200 thread in the HDTV Hardware forum for more specific information.

HD-DVR/Software:

Motorola 6412-- first became available in December 2004. (6208 was originally projected to be available November/December 2003). Costs extra $9.95 per month (or $4.95 per month more than a non-DVR HD STB rental from Comcast) above what you are otherwise paying for now.

Software for the HD DVR the iGuide, by Guideworks, a joint venture of Comcast and Gemstar-TV Guide. Software for all other HD boxes will eventually be the iGuide but has not yet been downloaded to them as of February 17, 2005.

Current firmware version for the 6412:

Current software version for the 6412: 71.44 1203 (revision should be coming in the next couple of months)

Motorola 6412 PIII--same as 6412 listed above but has HDMI video output vs DVI for the above 6412.

Current firmware version for the 6412-PIII: 12.31

Motorola 3412--same as 6412 PIII only it has no analog tuner. The 3412 is a digital-only DVR and can be used only on systems where ADS has been implemented.

Current firmware version for the 3412: 12.22

Costs:

Limited basic cable, which is required for all subscriptions, ranges from $9 to $17 per month depending on your area. HD STB rental (non-DVR) is $5 per month. To get INHD and ESPN HD, if encrypted, you need Digital Classic tier at $9.95 per month. Premium HD channels, if encrypted, are received with any a la carte or package subscription that includes the SD versions of those channels.

HD-DVR (6412-3412) cost: $4.95 more per month than the standard HD STB. To be eligible to rent the DVR you must have a subscription to Standard Cable and at least Digital Classic--average cost--$57

Note: All the above prices prices and packages will vary somewhat from area to area, check with others in your location and/or contact the local Comcast office that serves your area.

I will update this summary as information changes. If anyone has different or updated information to the above, please post it to this thread and I will incorporate it.

fender4645

08-09-06, 12:26 PM

Thanks for puting this together, Jim. Very much appreciated.

shane55

08-09-06, 12:33 PM

keenan... you are a god. Thanks for the compendium. :D

Mikef5

08-09-06, 01:08 PM

Boy Jim, that was really quick, ever think of becoming a secretary ?? :) Nice job though.

Laters,
Mikef5

Tom Koegel

08-09-06, 02:16 PM

Since a number who regularly post here chat about the Giants and A's in HD, a question related to FSN BA last night. I was happily jumping between the Giants broadcast on 702 and the A's on 720--well, not so happily given that I am a Giants fan and they were losing again--but toward the end of the A's broadcast I noticed what I would call banding. It involves a band of lines, maybe 10% of the picture vertically, moving up the screen (maybe down?). The lines are at a different intensity than the rest of the screen. Looks very much like the kind of interference you get from a ground-loop problem. The Giants game was gone by the time I noticed this, and I did NOT see this on the other HD channels operating at the time. I had a pretty serious ground loop problem a few months back which I solved with a Jensen transformer sitting on the coax connection to my 6412-III. When I had that previous problem, it was noticeable on all HD channels. This seemed limited to FSN-BA.

I have been running the 6412-III, sort of as an experiment, at 720p over the last few weeks. I didn't have the energy to power the box off and switch back to 1080i to see if that affected what I was seeing.

Has anyone observed this on FSN-BA? I have a Fujitsu 50" plasma, and so 720p seemed like the more proper resolution to use out of the 6412-III, given that Motorola hasn't seen fit to give us an option in the firmware to passthrough the native HD resolution. Any other thoughts or suggestions?

I suppose I should just be ecstatic about the opportunity to jump between two HD broadcasts of baseball, both of which looked much better than the crappy HD present on the Fox Saturday afternoon "national" broadcasts.

keenan

08-09-06, 02:56 PM

Thanks to all, and thanks to everyone who has contributed info, I think it still needs some work, plus, I'm still not sure about that Solano stuff..??

Mike, find me a nice short black leather skirt and I might consider it... :p

keenan

08-09-06, 03:12 PM

That FSN link is dead in the first post, does someone have it handy?

keenan

08-09-06, 03:14 PM

Tom, I can't really help much as I don't get FSNBA-HD up here, but I thought ground loop bars were usually horizontal..??

fender4645

08-09-06, 03:21 PM

That FSN link is dead in the first post, does someone have it handy?

Here's a link to the main FSN-HD site which has links to each team's schedules:

http://fsnbayarea.com/FSNHD.jsp

Mikef5

08-09-06, 03:34 PM

Tom,
I had the same grounding problem a long time ago, turned out to be a bad connection. The tech that can out looked at the problem and right away knew what it was and redid all my connections just to be on the safe side. I haven't had a problem since.... other than my normal bitching to Comcast about not upgrading our area :p

Laters,
Mikef5

Mikef5

08-09-06, 03:45 PM

Well, I got an answer to my email to KTVU about the HD broadcasting and even though they were very nice to give me a schedule for the rest of the baseball season and did verify that football would be shown in HD, they didn't answer my question about whether or not if it is a local production or not. So I'm going to the source, I wrote to Mark Ibanez, KTVU's sports announcer, since he's the one that implied that it was a local production. I don't know why I should care, the more HD the happier I am, especially if it means more local sports teams in HD :p
It's just nice to know so when there are problems you know who to go to and if things are going good you know who to give kudo's to.

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-09-06, 04:08 PM

Here's a link to the main FSN-HD site which has links to each team's schedules:

http://fsnbayarea.com/FSNHD.jsp
Thanks.

keenan

08-09-06, 04:15 PM

BTW, really off-topic, but for Giants fans, what's with Bonds? Last night, 6th inning I think, runner on first, Bonds hits a grounder, falls out of the batter's box, runner from first does his damnedest to take out the 2nd baseman, 2nd baseman has to throw way off balance, and what's Bonds doing? Practically walking to first base..?!?!

Hey Barry, if you can't even your ass to first base in a reasonably timely fashion, it's time to hang them up.

keenan

08-09-06, 04:16 PM

Mike, anything from Mr J....?

nikeykid

08-09-06, 04:42 PM

nikeykid

08-09-06, 04:46 PM

i guess my question is, if its a local production, how does that affect FOX's 6 HD games a week and CBS's 3 HD games a week? remember we get our niner games from one of those networks.

mr. wally

08-09-06, 05:47 PM

I have firmware version 12.31
software is the same as listed

I do get INHD, INHD2, FSN Bay Area HD so I imagine the rest of SaraMilgatos get those. Don't get anything above 723 and still don't get Video On Demand.

ESPN2-HD is on channel 724 on some areas... not mine ;)

Anything above 719 is encrypted. Actually, everything is encrypted except the analog channels and channels 702 through 709.

Laters,
Mikef5

could you tell me exactly what hd channels your getting from comcast and what is on each channel so i can compare to what is offered in gatos. thanks

walk

08-09-06, 06:04 PM

KTVU does produce their own Giants games. They do not produce football games, those are all done by the networks.

keenan

08-09-06, 07:21 PM

Should there be something in the post about VOD? What about HSI and telco...?

Mikef5, could you put together a brief summary of 550 system status, a honest summary...I'd probably go on a rant... :p

BTW, maybe Mr. J would like to add something, or even correct some mis-information?

ssmobin

08-09-06, 07:33 PM

Yeah this was the first time I've seen KTVU show 720p, its usually 480p. Not as nice as FSN HD, but its much better then the 480p crap that KTVU usually shows!
ty. pq looks great.

well maybe its cuz ktvu is at 720p, but fsn hd looks a little sharper.

wco81

08-09-06, 07:37 PM

Hey has Comcast's DVR offerings got any better? Not only the actual hardware and software but the level of service or programming package you need to get?

Because Direct TV is supposedly going to start releasing their HD DVR after an intro in LA later this month.

Moment of truth for a lot of people.

I know a lot of people are disenchanted with Direct TV's non-Tivo DVR. So it will be interesting to see which sucks less, the 6412 or the D* offering.

TPeterson

08-09-06, 08:42 PM

I have never seen KTVU-DT (2.1) send 480p. They always have sent 720p, even though much of their programming is simply up-rezzed from NTSC.

fender4645

08-09-06, 09:03 PM

I have never seen KTVU-DT (2.1) send 480p. They always have sent 720p, even though much of their programming is simply up-rezzed from NTSC.

Didn't FOX do their "EDTV" (FOX Widescreen) for about a year before they went HD? Wasn't that 480p?

TPeterson

08-09-06, 09:09 PM

You could be right, if you're talking about more than 2 years ago.... I have a great memory, but it's short. :D

(The OP that I was replying to, however, used the present tense....)

plumeria

08-09-06, 09:24 PM

San Francisco Bay Area Comcast Information
[snip]
Costs:

Limited basic cable, which is required for all subscriptions, ranges from $9 to $17 per month depending on your area. HD STB rental (non-DVR) is $5 per month. To get INHD and ESPN HD, if encrypted, you need Digital Classic tier at $9.95 per month. Premium HD channels, if encrypted, are received with any a la carte or package subscription that includes the SD versions of those channels.
[snip]

I will update this summary as information changes. If anyone has different or updated information to the above, please post it to this thread and I will incorporate it.

Keenan

Very useful posting - thanks.

My big question with getting IHND is - can you add the Digital Classic tier on top of a limited basic service or it has to be on top of a stndard service? (large price difference) The answer seems to vary depending on which Bay area location you live.

peter

keenan

08-09-06, 10:11 PM

Keenan

Very useful posting - thanks.

My big question with getting IHND is - can you add the Digital Classic tier on top of a limited basic service or it has to be on top of a stndard service? (large price difference) The answer seems to vary depending on which Bay area location you live.

peter
To the best of my knowledge, you CANNOT get Digital Classic without both Limited Basic and Expanded Basic, at least if you want the DVR. You may be able to get Digital Classic with just Limited Basic, in fact, I think I was told you can do that, but when the subject of the DVR came up it was a no go.

If somebody can verify that it would be great, and I can put it in the first post.

keenan

08-09-06, 10:16 PM

Didn't FOX do their "EDTV" (FOX Widescreen) for about a year before they went HD? Wasn't that 480p?
Yes, they did, it was their position that it was good enough and that they didn't need to go HD.

Someone mentioned earlier about the Saturday baseball games from FOX, those are not in HD, never have been, they're 480p upconverted to 720p.

TBoyd

08-10-06, 12:39 AM

Back in April 06 I posted:

Well, I'm pleased to confirm that, at least here in Cupertino, it is possible to get the incremental, non-premium HD channels for around $30/Mo.

I just got my cableCARD ($00), Digital Classic ($9.99), HD Service ($5.00) added to my current Limited Basic ($15.10) service.

The CSR that took my order absolutely stated, even argued, that getting Digital Classic, without also getting STANDARD CABLE too, would not allow me to get the additional HD channels over the locals in HD, that I already had at $00. She was wrong.

I suspect that if you want their DVR then you WILL have to get STANDARD.

ninerfactor

08-10-06, 01:01 AM

fender4645

08-10-06, 01:45 AM

I have a Sony KP-53HS30 rear projection tv and standard comcast cable. I want to switch my box with the HD version from comcast and was wondering how my HD channels will look on my tv, given that it's the normal 4:3 ratio and not widescreen. At 53'', will the HD picture have black bars on the top and bottom? My intention to switch boxes is to watch local channels in HD (NFL Sunday on Fox, ABC, etc). I would not mind the black bars but do not want my picture to look "scrunched up" or distorted because of it. Thanks!

Yes, it will have the black bars on the top on and bottom. Depending on how your TV adjusts itself to the incoming signal, you may have to press an 'Aspect' button (or something to that affect) to make it not look scrunched. I used to have a cheap 4:3 HDTV CRT and I had to manually changed the aspect when I switched between SD and HD signals.

Edit: I just looked at the manual for your TV at Sony.com and it says the following: "This TV is not capable of displaying a native 720p format signal. When the 720p format signal is received, it is converted into a 480p format signal." This is kind of a bummer as many stations broadcast in 720p which means you'll basically only be getting DVD-quality on these stations (unless I'm reading this wrong).

mterzich

08-10-06, 02:05 AM

I just looked at the manual for your TV at Sony.com and it says the following: "This TV is not capable of displaying a native 720p format signal. When the 720p format signal is received, it is converted into a 480p format signal." This is kind of a bummer as many stations broadcast in 720p which means you'll basically only be getting DVD-quality on these stations (unless I'm reading this wrong).
That is true but since he is planning to use a cable box and that is set to output 1080i, he should be OK.

fender4645

08-10-06, 02:06 AM

That is true but since he is planning to use a cable box and that is set to output 1080i, he should be OK.

I was thinking that...just wasn't sure.

Mikef5

08-10-06, 02:53 AM

Mikef5, could you put together a brief summary of 550 system status, a honest summary...I'd probably go on a rant...

You want a brief summary of the 550 MHz systems ??
OK, basically we're screwed...... :p :D and I didn't even rant :)

Seriously, I don't think I can add much more than is already known about our area other than what I have already said. As far as I know the SaraMilgatos area is not going to be upgraded any time soon, otherwise I would have stayed with Comcast. If you need to know something specific let me know, I'd be more than happy to help.

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-10-06, 03:05 AM

You want a brief summary of the 550 MHz systems ??
OK, basically we're screwed...... :p :D and I didn't even rant :)

Seriously, I don't think I can add much more than is already known about our area other than what I have already said. As far as I know the SaraMilgatos area is not going to be upgraded any time soon, otherwise I would have stayed with Comcast. If you need to know something specific let me know, I'd be more than happy to help.

Laters,
Mikef5
Okay, the below is an updated version, Note re 550 Mhz systems: Not all (or any) HD channels may be available in some Bay Area systems because they are not yet "rebuilt" to either 750 mHz or 860 mHz and thus have less bandwidth to devote to HDTV. As it stands August 2006, there doesn't appear to be any plans to upgrade these systems to bring parity with the rest of the SF bay area. The prevailing assumption is that as we move closer to the analog OTA shutdown date, Comcast will be moving analog channels to digital, and thus, freeing up bandwidth for more channels and services on these systems. This looks to be a long and slow process covering years so don't expect anything new to appear on these systems anytime soon. On these systems you will NOT get: INHD, INHD2, FSN Bay Area HD, Showtime HD, KRON HD and/or HD Special Events among others depending on the particular system.

But, you will pay the same rates as subscribers who do receive the full complement of channels and services. This is an inequity that Comcast, to date, has not addressed and continues to remain silent on.

These systems are located in, among other areas, Hayward, Saratoga, Milpitas, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale (part), Santa Rosa and Vallejo.

sfhub

08-10-06, 06:58 AM

Okay, the below is an updated version,
I still don't understand the huge difficulty in finding 3 friggin analog channels to move over to digital on the 550MHz systems to make room for those channels you listed. Yeah contracts blah blah. Yeah bundling blah blah. There are a whole lot of analog channels to choose from.

Comcast makes it seem like the system is completely starved and nothing short of complete rebuild or dumping all analog channels could improve the situation and I just don't believe that. Shift 3 analog channels to digital and 550 can have the same channels as the rest of us, minus VOD.

keenan

08-10-06, 11:48 AM

I still don't understand the huge difficulty in finding 3 friggin analog channels to move over to digital on the 550MHz systems to make room for those channels you listed. Yeah contracts blah blah. Yeah bundling blah blah. There are a whole lot of analog channels to choose from.

Comcast makes it seem like the system is completely starved and nothing short of complete rebuild or dumping all analog channels could improve the situation and I just don't believe that. Shift 3 analog channels to digital and 550 can have the same channels as the rest of us, minus VOD.
I agree, but looking over the channel lineup I can see where they may indeed have issues moving some of these channels. Going down the list it's not hard to imagine each and every one of those channels has fought tooth and nail to be on those analog tiers, the only thing I can see would be to dump one or two of the community access channels, and we all know there will be issues there. Having so many local stations in the bay area causes problems as well as they literally clog the Limited Basic lineup, and none of those are going to go on digital. Looking at Expanded Basic, every one of the channels is a "major" cable net. If they could get one or two of those to go the way SciFi did, and move them to SD digital we'd be in good shape, but every one of those channels is part of a heavyweight network entity which means the whole package would probably have to be renegotiated to allow Comcast to move one of the channels off analog.

Mikef5

08-10-06, 12:23 PM

Note re 550 Mhz systems: Not all (or any) HD channels may be available in some Bay Area systems because they are not yet "rebuilt" to either 750 mHz or 860 mHz and thus have less bandwidth to devote to HDTV. As it stands August 2006, there doesn't appear to be any plans to upgrade these systems to bring parity with the rest of the SF bay area. The prevailing assumption is that as we move closer to the analog OTA shutdown date, Comcast will be moving analog channels to digital, and thus, freeing up bandwidth for more channels and services on these systems. This looks to be a long and slow process covering years so don't expect anything new to appear on these systems anytime soon. On these systems you will NOT get: INHD, INHD2, FSN Bay Area HD, Showtime HD, KRON HD and/or HD Special Events among others depending on the particular system.

But, you will pay the same rates as subscribers who do receive the full complement of channels and services. This is an inequity that Comcast, to date, has not addressed and continues to remain silent on.

These systems are located in, among other areas, Hayward, Saratoga, Milpitas, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale (part), Santa Rosa and Vallejo.
Jim,
Nicely done, except SaraMilgatos does get INHD, INHD2. I know that Santa Rosa doesn't get those and I'm sure there are isolated pockets of 550 or lower who don't get them.

FSNBA-HD is a function of INHD2 so I don't think we can classify it as a channel unto it's self. In other words, I can't tune to INHD2 and watch a movie and at the same time record FSNBA-HD. They just use INHD2 when they broadcast a game in HD.

Laters,
Mikef5

Mikef5

08-10-06, 01:13 PM

Keenan,
Sorry to be off topic but, does this mean what I think it means ????

9468 INHD ADDED TO Tp 20 on EchoStar 3 at 61.5w
9468 INHD ADDED TO Tp 27 ConUS beam on EchoStar 5 at 129w

Laters,
Mikef5

sfhub

08-10-06, 01:29 PM

I agree, but looking over the channel lineup I can see where they may indeed have issues moving some of these channels. Going down the list it's not hard to imagine each and every one of those channels has fought tooth and nail to be on those analog tiers, the only thing I can see would be to dump one or two of the community access channels, and we all know there will be issues there.
Obviously we are not privy to the contractual obligations so we are talking theoretical...

TV Guide Channel - do we really need this with the builtin guide on the STB? Even folks w/o STBs hardly use TVGC, from my experience. Would one rather have 2 HD channels or TVGC repeating loop.

Do we really need 3 shopping channels, QVC, HSN, and Jewelry Television

Do we really need WGN TV? I don't even know where it is from but it isn't local.

Isn't Outdoor Life Network (OLN) some Comcast affiliated channel? Why can't they sacrifice OLN for more HD in 550MHz? They still will have coverage in 750/860

TVLAND, Hallmark, Home & Garden TV, Country Music TV, ATN are all potential candidates too.

I'm going based on the channels in my area.

If I look at Santa Rosa, I notice they have a channel 860 areas don't have, for example Soap channel. If 550 is really starved, why do they need a channel other areas with more bandwidth do not get?

Same thing with SciFi in SaraMilGatos. I think they still have SciFi when the rest of us have it on digital.

Regarding the community access I know it has been a faux pas to even think about removing them in the past, but seriously many of these channels just display a banner for 23 out of 24 hrs. What a total waste of bandwidth. Can't they just combine 2 channels so they can use 22 out of 24 hrs?

So I think I have identified at least 2 channels in the problem areas, TVGC/SOAP in Santa Rosa and TVGC/SCIFI in SaraMilGatos which can be moved to digital.

That'll get you 4 HD channels and I think certainly worth the trade off. We aren't talking about shutting down those channels nationwide, just moving them to digital for 550 areas. 750/860 can still have them analog if necessary and the kicker is 750/860 areas don't even have SOAP and SciFi as analog today, it is only the bandwidth starved 550 that have them.

I also counted 5 local origination/community access channels in Santa Rosa, 6, 69, 70, 71, 72. Can't they just combine 2 of them. I really doubt they are being used all the time. They certainly aren't in my area.

How about dumping digital FM in 550 areas? Do you guys have digital FM? That is stopping you from getting 2 HD channels also.

What sounds more reasonable, in bandwidth starved 550 areas you won't get digital FM or in bandwidth starved areas you won't get INHD1/2?

I really think there is low hanging fruit that can be pruned to alleviate the situation just management is not thinking in that direction. Again I'm not privy to any insider info, but there usually is low hanging fruit in most situations. It's obviously not a long term situation, but I think it will satisfy 90% of the people.

Chandu1

08-10-06, 01:34 PM

Sorry to be off topic but, does this mean what I think it means ????

9468 INHD ADDED TO Tp 20 on EchoStar 3 at 61.5w
9468 INHD ADDED TO Tp 27 ConUS beam on EchoStar 5 at 129w

Where do you see this?

Mikef5

08-10-06, 01:55 PM

Where do you see this?
It's on satelliteguys web site and dbstalk web site.

Here's the link to sat guy's website http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=73509&page=4
post #40

Laters,
Mikef5

Mikef5

08-10-06, 02:10 PM

ninerfactor

08-10-06, 02:30 PM

That is true but since he is planning to use a cable box and that is set to output 1080i, he should be OK.

I heard that Fox NFL Sunday broadcast only in 720p, which according to TV manual, would be bumped down to 480p. Are you saying that the 480p signal from FOX would be bumped up to 1080i in my box and then transferred over to the TV? Thanks.

Chandu1

08-10-06, 03:09 PM

It's on satelliteguys web site and dbstalk web site.

Here's the link to sat guy's website http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=73509&page=4
post #40

Laters,
Mikef5

Hmm. While if DISH were to add INHD, they would be forced to increase price of whatever HD tier they add it to. Comcast/Time Warner and some other cable compnay own INHD together.

DISH needs to add Setanta USA a lot more than they need INHD.

mterzich

08-10-06, 03:35 PM

I heard that Fox NFL Sunday broadcast only in 720p, which according to TV manual, would be bumped down to 480p. Are you saying that the 480p signal from FOX would be bumped up to 1080i in my box and then transferred over to the TV? Thanks.
Everything on FOX HD, ABC HD, ESPN HD, and ESPN2 HD is broadcast at 720p whether true HD or SD. All other HD channels broadcast everything at 1080i. If the STB is configured to output 1080i (configure STB by pressing power down and then menu), all 720p channels will be converted to 1080i prior to feeding the TV via component, HDMI, or DVI. So everything that is broadcast as 720p HD will still be seen as HD on the TV with minimum or no quality loss.

leftheaded

08-10-06, 03:57 PM

Everything on FOX HD, ABC HD, ESPN HD, and ESPN2 HD is broadcast at 720p whether true HD or SD. All other HD channels broadcast everything at 1080i. If the STB is configured to output 1080i (configure STB by pressing power down and then menu), all 720p channels will be converted to 1080i prior to feeding the TV via component, HDMI, or DVI. So everything that is broadcast as 720p HD will still be seen as HD on the TV with minimum or no quality loss.
is there a snowball's chance in hell that anything will be broadcast in 1080p in the next couple years?

Mikef5

08-10-06, 04:04 PM

is there a snowball's chance in hell that anything will be broadcast in 1080p in the next couple years?
I would vote for the survival of the snowball in hell before you see 1080p. There are people screaming about the loss of the analog signals and Comcast not wanting to disenfranchise those people so what do you think will happen, we can't even get rid of analog let alone try and do 1080p. Plus the cost to do programing would be very high and the markets that have people with tv's capable of 1080p is still very small, like us digital people in an all analog world.

Laters,
Mikef5

sfhub

08-10-06, 04:40 PM

sfhub,

In the SaraMilgatos area we don't get the Tv guide station, OLN is owned by Comcast and is in digital here also, SciFi is analog and needs to be moved to digital like the rest of the Bay Area. We don't get WGN, it's a Chicago station and shows some of the Cubs games on it ( another team I root for :) )
QVC, HSN and the Jewelry channels pay BIG BUCKS to be on cable, you can't believe how popular those channels are.
Community access channels ??? You might as well ask the Pope to be come Jewish.. these channels are a sacred cow. Yes they should be moved to the digital tier but never will be. That's all my franchise board talks about, on how they can get more for that and not what they can do for the people of Milpitas.
Best thing Comcast could do is issue the DCT 700's and drop analog, cut your losses and live with it. I mean I've been told we are not cost effective enough to up grade so what would they be losing ??
Do you guys get digital FM? Moving SciFi to digital and dropping digital FM would also yield you 4 HD channels which I think is what you guys are missing (not considering VOD)

Dropping analog completely is one solution, but that is far more disruptive given the analog/digital user mix than selectively pruning the guide.

So how come SarMilGatos 95035 gets Jewelry channel on analog, but Santa Rosa 95403 does not? I understand the QVC/HSN thing about money (but wouldn't it be nice if they paid enough to get you upgraded? :) ), but the same argument shouldn't hold for jewelry channel which is already on digital for Santa Rosa, but still holds analog slot in SaraMilGatos. I do see that they already pruned TVGC in milpitas so it seems they can do this selective pruning, just haven't gone as far as they should be able to.

So for both Santa Rosa, if they simply moved to digital, those channels which are already digital in other areas and pick some low hanging fruit, you can get 4 more HD channels easy.

Santa Rosa: TVGC and SOAP can move to digital. Nobody else has SOAP in analog so no big deal and SaraMilGatos already got TVGC pruned, so there is precedent

SaraMilGatos: SciFi and Jewelry Channel can move to digital. SciFi is digital for almost everyone else, so should be no big deal. There is precedent for moving Jewelry Channel to digital as that is how Santa Rosa has it set up.

So I submit that by normalizing the analog channels available between Santa Rosa and SaraMilGatos, you guys can get 4 extra HD channels, which I think covers the current missing channels (not considering VOD)

Further, if you guys are currently getting digital FM, that can be dropped and you can get 2 more HD channels.

mterzich

08-10-06, 04:52 PM

is there a snowball's chance in hell that anything will be broadcast in 1080p in the next couple years?
With the current scheme, it would be highly unlikely that national networks will ever broadcast 1080p since those signals have to go OTA and there isn't any bandwidth for that (2x the bandwidth requirement). The only other possibility are the other channels but since SAT companies hack away at the signal to get the bit rate down and cable companies are already squeezed for bandwidth, what would be the sense? A 9 mb/s movie at 1080p would more than likely have continious microblocking.

Mikef5

08-10-06, 04:58 PM

Do you guys get digital FM? Moving SciFi to digital and dropping digital FM would also yield you 4 HD channels which I think is what you guys are missing (not considering VOD)

Dropping analog completely is one solution, but that is far more disruptive given the analog/digital user mix than selectively pruning the guide.
Yes, we do get the digital FM a complete waste of bandwidth, that's why I have a stereo receiver when I want to listen to music. As far as I'm concerned they could get rid of the music channels also. I don't understand why people would listen to music on a tv when there is dedicated equipment that does a far superior job like a good stereo setup.

Dropping analog would be disruptive but we are such a small blip to Comcast and not worth upgrading I don't see where they'd lose anything and with the issuing of the DCT 700's that would still give those people with analog sets the ability to still get their stations. They would need that box but the funding was approved by Congress so it's not like Comcast is going to be out of money by doing it.

I agree with you whole heartedly, Comcast could do some things to help alleviate this problem, they just won't do it until they absolutely have to.

Laters,
Mikef5

usc10

08-10-06, 05:03 PM

hey gus just want tell day are going to be new dvrs motorola

the cable boxes are motorola dcts ads 3416/2305 160 hard drive
and non ads is 6416 160 hard drive

my brother law said there in the warehouse pacific grove just got the 3416/2305 because
they are ads.

he said they moving 6412 in non ads so they get 3416/2305 . and get all
of the 3412 out of stock at the warehouse.

and said we should get the 6416 in non ads when all 6412 are out of stock

the pace dvr cable box should start to come pretty soon they are the digital cable non hd
box.

usc10

sfhub

08-10-06, 05:05 PM

I would vote for the survival of the snowball in hell before you see 1080p. There are people screaming about the loss of the analog signals and Comcast not wanting to disenfranchise those people so what do you think will happen, we can't even get rid of analog let alone try and do 1080p. Plus the cost to do programing would be very high and the markets that have people with tv's capable of 1080p is still very small, like us digital people in an all analog world.
Well, 1080p/24 which would be used for film sources actually uses the same or less bandwidth than 1080i (depending on how the film is encoded on 1080i). Most of the stuff on HD-DVD and BluRay is using 1080p/24.

As you mentioned, 1080p/60 source content will be a long way off and 1080p/60 transmission will be a long way off unless they at least move to a more advanced codec like mpeg4, vc1, etc.

I actually have a 1080p set but have no desire for complete analog shutoff because I have 16 outlets going right now and only 3 of those are digital QAM capable, so while I appreciate HD content, I still have significant setup that is using analog. I suspect many people, even those counted as digital subscribers by Comcast, are using a similar setup, digital on some outlets, analog on others.

On the other hand, selective pruning I fully support, and by pruning, I'm much more aggressive than the limited low-hanging fruit channels that I discussed above (which were designed to be the least intrusive and most easily justifiable)