Definitely good news, of course I have to be a killjoy about something---18 mos is a loooong time. Maybe they'll start in the north and work their way down to you. :p :D
Well, when you consider that they are going to do 8 areas in just 18 months I think that is an optimistic time frame. Consider that they "may" have to redo fiber runs, update head-end equipment and update most of the distribution equipment in each of the 8 cities and do it with the existing work force, and have no problems during the upgrades, and that doesn't even take into consideration the work necessary to get all the building permits and approvals from each of the cities to get this thing up and going. I'd be amazed at 18 months but I didn't think I'd ever see our areas get upgraded in my life time so......

As far as where they will start doing the first upgrades , I haven't a clue but I've been lobbying for a certain SaraMilgatos area for a couple of months now so I've got a head start on you .... :p ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

Mikef5, in a PM you had told me Santa Rosa was actually something other than 550 and that Comcast was going to "repair" the screwups that AT&T had done to utilize that already existing bandwidth.

My question is, will Santa Rosa actually be "re-built" to 1GHz as indicated in the below statement, or will it finally just make use of the 750MHz it already is?
From what I found out about Santa Rosa, your area was really screwed up during the TCI/AT&T time frame. They had built out some of the system to 750 MHz but didn't do the necessary upgrades to the head end and some of the other distribution equipment to fully make use of the available bandwidth, sort of a bastardized system. So, the way I see your areas situation is that it will be easier to do the upgrades to Santa Rosa because you have some of the necessary equipment already there but needs to be fully upgraded and tweaked to make you fully operational. That's why you were able to get all those new channels added to your system a couple of days ago.

Laters,
Mikef5

It's actually good timing for me...my promotional pricing from Dish will be over in another 8 months or so (and meanwhile I'll enjoy all the HD) and maybe comcast will be ready with lots of HD, and a nice discount :) to come back...

competition is good (and thanks to ATT also...funny how the Comcast timing works out after ATT says they are entering the market ;)
As much as I'd like to think that Comcast on it's own decided that now was the time to get all the areas in the Bay Area up to snuff ( and I know Mr. J. has been working hard on getting this done ) ....... Competition can sometimes get things off the back burner and kicked into high gear ;)

Just for clearer info, I've known about this upgrade for a couple of months, "before" AT&T announced where they were going to do their next upgrade areas but I wasn't able to say anything ( non disclosure ). So good timing or coincidence ??? You be the judge, I'm just happy it's finally happening no matter why.

Laters,
Mikef5

Yes, I'm glad it's happening too, I just wish it was happening tomorrow. :p

I'm still concerned about whether Santa Rosa will actually go to 1GHz or just use the 750MHz is was originally structured for, I guess time will tell.

What kind of bandwidth does this mean?

BTW, my Comcast data has been sucking lately.

Best thing we can hope for is this pushes AT&T to boost their U-Verse and go HTTP like they should have in the first place.
A heck of a lot. With 1GHz Comcast can continue to provide about 70 analog channels at 6MHz a piece, plus over 150 HD channels at 3MHz a piece, plus still have room, 150MHz or so, for VOD, internet, phone, etc. If they digital simulcast half the current analog lineup(I think the Limited Basic channels will stay analog for quite some time) then that will give another 40 or so HD channels, or whatever services they may have planned.

It will certainly put Comcast on equal footing with DirecTV who will have gobs of bandwidth available next year, not to mention, DirecTV can't do internet or phone and VOD from sat seems to be rather problematic.

I still don't like Comcast reliablity (and the fact that they won't own up to their problems when you call them) or the annual price hikes. You can bet they will use this investment to justify another increase (and I bet the 550 Mhz areas paid higher prices while other cities saw benefits).

First one to run fiber to my home gets the prize.

Speaking of cable rate hikes, the FCC just released another one on their "gee, duh" reports about cableTV with observations that are painfully obvious already.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9286021#post9286021
Hot Off The Press! The Latest Television News and Info - AVS Forum

I still don't like Comcast reliablity (and the fact that they won't own up to their problems when you call them) or the annual price hikes. You can bet they will use this investment to justify another increase (and I bet the 550 Mhz areas paid higher prices while other cities saw benefits).

First one to run fiber to my home gets the prize.
Well, for reliability they all have their problems, no one is immune to system problems or outages, so you can pick your poison on that point. Annual price hikes, Dish just announced that they are going to raise their rates also and I'm sure Directv will follow suit and raise their rates soon and yes the 550 MHz areas have had to pay the same prices that everyone else in the Bay Area does and we don't get half of what the rest of you get. This has really been a bone of contention with my dealings with Comcast Corp ( not the people that work for Comcast ). The Corporation thinks of bottom line and customers come after that but all corporations are like that.

Fiber to your home ??? Way to expensive and I just don't see it happening, fiber to the node yes. It will be a long time if ever you see it go to the home. Remember corporations think of bottom line, is it cost effective to do that, is there a profit in doing that ??? That's why it's taken so long to get the 550 MHz areas upgraded... not cost effective.... until now ;) So, while it may seem greener on the other side of the fence, it's not always the case.

Laters,
Mikef5

I agree about greener on the other side of the fence. Verizon is doing fiber to the home. If they don't have to upgrade for 20 years while Comcast and AT&T do, who made out better in the cost/benefit equation?

My problems with Comcast have to do with packet loss and unstable latencies to the same server. They won't even acknowledge there is a problem.

I agree about greener on the other side of the fence. Verizon is doing fiber to the home. If they don't have to upgrade for 20 years while Comcast and AT&T do, who made out better in the cost/benefit equation?

My problems with Comcast have to do with packet loss and unstable latencies to the same server. They won't even acknowledge there is a problem.
I do understand the problems when you call Comcast and talk to one of their CSR's but you have to realize that they are script readers, they are not techs and you probably know more about the system than they do. What they need is what Dish has, a separate department for handling technical problems separate from the sales department. At least someone would know what you're talking about.

This is not Verison country so our choices are AT&T or Comcast and from what I've read about Verison it's no bed of roses either. All these providers have their good points and bad points, it's just deciding which problems you can put up with or do something about.

Laters,
Mikef5

Comcast already does fiber to the node in Santa Rosa, I would suspect it's that way in most areas in the bay area.

Finally

If you remember a couple of months ago I said that if Comcast didn't upgrade the 550 MHz areas and soon that I would be leaving for Dish. Well, I'm still here and you maybe wondering why. Here is the reason ......
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


It's be really tough to keep my big mouth shut, too.

Rock on Bay Area!

And think of what HFC plant be capable of turning out when and if AT$T gets around to FTTP (or even delivering >1 HD stream over twisted pair?)

It's be really tough to keep my big mouth shut, too.


That's it, no drinks for you at CES. :p :D

I can't wait till' AT&T U-Verse is here!! Digital cable plus HD, 3 receivers, one dvr, plus internet for only $74!!! That is insane. Two months later the hd is only $10 more.

Comcast right now charges $60 for the lowest end digital cable. $5 for hd. and the most idiotic fee is $6.95 per reciever!! hahaha comcast is so stupid. If I wanted digital cable on every tv in my house it would be $85+!!. U-verse cant come soon enough!!

bye bye comcast!!! i will not miss you at all!

More than a quarter-million homes in Los Gatos, Milpitas, Saratoga, Santa Rosa, Hayward, San Leandro, Sunnyvale and Half Moon Bay will have their broadband network improved using the latest state-of-the-art 1 GHz technology. About friggan time. Now all they need are decent STBs with good software including DVRs with expandable storage - (hey I can dream!!) :cool:

Here's the quote from Comm daily...

Comcast pledged $80 million to upgrade some San Francisco Bay Area systems, saying it will lay
2,200-plus miles of fiber in Hayward, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Saratoga, Santa Rosa, San Leandro, Half Moon Bay
and Sunnyvale. The project, which should take 18 months, will boost broadband speeds in those areas, Comcast
said. The announcement comes days after AT&T said it began selling TV service in the region (CD Dec 22 p7).
"We said all along that one of the great byproducts of competition was increased benefits to consumers," an
AT&T spokeswoman said: "This just reinforces that." The pledged investment would bring Comcast's total in
the area to $663 million, it said.

Thanks,
mike

I can't wait till' AT&T U-Verse is here!! Digital cable plus HD, 3 receivers, one dvr, plus internet for only $74!!! That is insane. Two months later the hd is only $10 more.

Comcast right now charges $60 for the lowest end digital cable. $5 for hd. and the most idiotic fee is $6.95 per reciever!! hahaha comcast is so stupid. If I wanted digital cable on every tv in my house it would be $85+!!. U-verse cant come soon enough!!

bye bye comcast!!! i will not miss you at all!

Good luck. Alcatel (a french company) is doing all the network equipment and integration, while all the BACKEND software is done by microsoft. All this and you have to deal with SBC's poor outside plant too.

I suspect you'll be on comcast for a good long time. AT&T is behind the 8-ball in tons of areas. Hopefully they will wise up and dump the MSFT nonsense, and go to a verizon like FTTH to compete.

Thanks,
Mike

Good luck. Alcatel (a french company) is doing all the network equipment and integration, while all the BACKEND software is done by microsoft. All this and you have to deal with SBC's poor outside plant too.

I suspect you'll be on comcast for a good long time. AT&T is behind the 8-ball in tons of areas. Hopefully they will wise up and dump the MSFT nonsense, and go to a verizon like FTTH to compete.

Thanks,
Mike
Wow Alcatel, that was the same guys that supplied the modems for Pacbell when they started their DSL service here in the Bay Area. I was a beta tester for Pacbell and had to use that fine piece of equipment :rolleyes: . Microsoft is writing the software for them ???? The mind boggles at the very thought of that. I've been perusing the U-verse forums and it seems all is not well in the land of Oz. not ready for prime time. They're not even close to offering what cable and the sats do now and it's going to be a long time before they are a serious contender but time will tell if they can pull it off. FTTH is a nice thought but corporate bean counters will shoot that idea down, not enough profit in it, doesn't matter that it makes sense to do that. Nice to dream though. Hey, they're upgrading the 550 MHz areas so dreams can come true..... :p

Laters,
Mikef5

imagine the day when the new 1ghz zones are the ones with the new channels and us 750-860 guys are the ones complaining about getting the shaft on new channels. Won't that be a role reversal.

imagine the day when the new 1ghz zones are the ones with the new channels and us 750-860 guys are the ones complaining about getting the shaft on new channels. Won't that be a role reversal.
I think 750-860MHz systems can be brought up to 1GHz relatively easier than going from 550MHz to 1GHz, so at some point in the future I would expect that all the bay area systems will be on equal footing as far as bandwidth goes.

Congrats to those finally being upgraded to 1GHz.

Is there a way for me to determine the bandwidth in my area?

Well, when you consider that they are going to do 8 areas in just 18 months I think that is an optimistic time frame. Consider that they "may" have to redo fiber runs, update head-end equipment and update most of the distribution equipment in each of the 8 cities and do it with the existing work force, and have no problems during the upgrades, and that doesn't even take into consideration the work necessary to get all the building permits and approvals from each of the cities to get this thing up and going. I'd be amazed at 18 months but I didn't think I'd ever see our areas get upgraded in my life time so......

As far as where they will start doing the first upgrades , I haven't a clue but I've been lobbying for a certain SaraMilgatos area for a couple of months now so I've got a head start on you .... :p ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

Do you know if the current well underway antioch upgrade is going to be 1ghz?

i saw the morning news on ktvu (in HD of course) and they had a brief news report on the upgrades. comcast is getting good press for a change.

I think 750-860MHz systems can be brought up to 1GHz relatively easier than going from 550MHz to 1GHz, so at some point in the future I would expect that all the bay area systems will be on equal footing as far as bandwidth goes.

You are correct. Going from 550 -> 750 or 860 means changing the spacing of the amplifiers on the cable. This is VERY expensive. Going from 860 to 1G should be changing the amp electronics and not much else. Relatively cheap.

Thanks,
Mike

Congrats to those finally being upgraded to 1GHz.

Is there a way for me to determine the bandwidth in my area?
mazman49

A quick and dirty way to check is to look at the channels that you are getting. If you are getting ESPN2-HD or channels above 730 you are more than likely in an upgraded area. I don't think San Ramon is a 550 MHz area but I could be wrong.

Laters,
Mikef5

Good luck. Alcatel (a french company) is doing all the network equipment and integration, while all the BACKEND software is done by microsoft. All this and you have to deal with SBC's poor outside plant too.

I suspect you'll be on comcast for a good long time. AT&T is behind the 8-ball in tons of areas. Hopefully they will wise up and dump the MSFT nonsense, and go to a verizon like FTTH to compete.

Thanks,
Mike

AT&T has been good to me thus far. I have trust that they will have great service.

BTW, Alcatel now includes Lucent (the [great] granddaughter of AT&T's Western Electric division) so it's not clear that the same gang is involved with the current project.

BTW, Alcatel now includes Lucent (the [great] granddaughter of AT&T's Western Electric division) so it's not clear that the same gang is involved with the current project.

Actually they won the SBC contract before the Lucent merger was done. it's the French group - trust me - I know. And it's all alcatel routers, switches, etc... Not cisco, not juniper, etc... But the main issue is that these people don't know IP the way cisco and others do. There are some architectural issues.

But the worst part is MSFT. I have seen several demos done of the IPTV backend system, and they all started late due to rebooting of the windows servers. It's a joke. But you should read up on the foibles of u-verse in some other forums.

Don't forget they have to deal with somewhat crappy outside plant. the VDSL gear they are using causes packet loss at the higher data rates needed for video. They had to go back and have MSFT adjust the pre-buffering times to deal added latency the packet loss causes in the system. You don't get this close to to the CO or RT, but it's an issue when you get to the (still short) distances they are targetting. It's a mess.

Plus they are building out to the good neighborhoods in search of higher ARPU product sales. These folks will not put up with unreliability. And DSL penetration is high there which means you have near end crosstalk problems from all that ADSL in the binder.

Like I said Good luck.

Oh, and Ihatebestbuy, good for you if your AT&T voice service has been good. Video is a whole different league though, and it hurts a lot when you pick the wrong partners.

Time will tell. I think it's great they are challenging comcast - competition is great! Look at the markets where Verizon has turned on FIOS - the cable guys are offering 40-50 Mbps products! I just wish SBC would stop being so half-assed about it. It's not going to work, and will make comcast fatter and more arrogant.

Thanks,
mike

Simple question, but hopefully a simple answer:

FSNBA-HD:

Natively broadcasting in 720p or 1080i? Thanks!

Simple question, but hopefully a simple answer:

FSNBA-HD:

Natively broadcasting in 720p or 1080i? Thanks!
1080i, the FOX Sports owned and operated FSNs run 720p. FSNBA is a Rainbow Media property.

But what is so bad about uverse right now? I've read some stuff on the forums and people have reported excellent digital cable quality. This is all I care about in the end...getting good digital cable, good internet and good hd...for a reasonable price.

But what is so bad about uverse right now? I've read some stuff on the forums and people have reported excellent digital cable quality. This is all I care about in the end...getting good digital cable, good internet and good hd...for a reasonable price.

I agree it is a reasonable price.

BUT

ONE: They need to add FSNBA-HD. I need Sharks hockey in HD, along with Warriors, A's, and Giants in HD. Without that, forget it for me.

TWO: Perhaps even a bigger deal for me is the lack of ability to record (let alone watch!) two HD shows at the same time.

Heroes is likely going to be up against 24 when both come back in January. I want to watch both in HD, and tape them both. NO CAN DO with U-Verse. The best I could do is record one in hD, and record the other SD. That is a dealbreaker for me and for most people.

I don't care about being able to watch either one live, but later on Monday night at my convenience I want to watch both in HD. With U-Verse ONLY, this is not possible.

This is a huge problem when they finally add FSNBA-HD and there is HD sports conflicting with HD primetime. Another dealbreaker, especially baseball season with games practically every day.

But what is so bad about uverse right now? I've read some stuff on the forums and people have reported excellent digital cable quality. This is all I care about in the end...getting good digital cable, good internet and good hd...for a reasonable price.

We'll see about it's reliability soon enough. It's fine when it works as long as you don't really care about HD. But everyone will want it to work 24x7. Good luck.

BTW, I am all for them being successful. I just don't think they will be.

thanks,
Mike

We'll see about it's reliability soon enough. It's fine when it works as long as you don't really care about HD. But everyone will want it to work 24x7. Good luck.

BTW, I am all for them being successful. I just don't think they will be.

thanks,
Mike

Well, let's see. I've had PacBell, SBC, at&t, DSL for over 6 years now and it was down once for about 3 hours. I've had the same for telephone service in my area for 25 years and that service has never been down.

I'm unsure about your comment "as long as you don't really care about HD." They are offering HD service today. It has been said that they will expand that single HD to double in the near future. We all know that is a sticking point, and so do they.

I agree it is a reasonable price.

BUT

ONE: They need to add FSNBA-HD. I need Sharks hockey in HD, along with Warriors, A's, and Giants in HD. Without that, forget it for me.

TWO: Perhaps even a bigger deal for me is the lack of ability to record (let alone watch!) two HD shows at the same time.

Heroes is likely going to be up against 24 when both come back in January. I want to watch both in HD, and tape them both. NO CAN DO with U-Verse. The best I could do is record one in hD, and record the other SD. That is a dealbreaker for me and for most people.

I don't care about being able to watch either one live, but later on Monday night at my convenience I want to watch both in HD. With U-Verse ONLY, this is not possible.

This is a huge problem when they finally add FSNBA-HD and there is HD sports conflicting with HD primetime. Another dealbreaker, especially baseball season with games practically every day.

I agree. Having a second HD stream (supposedly available in 2007) is a must.

I had a chance to see U-Verse in action and was very impressed with the picture quality of all channels. However, the biggest "wow" factor for me was how fast you could surf through channels, something which brings my 6412 to a crawl.

...
However, the biggest "wow" factor for me was how fast you could surf through channels, something which brings my 6412 to a crawl.Was the surfing with a DVR? All DVRs that I've used have a lag time due to overhead for reinitializing the live buffer causing slow channel changing.

The problem I see is if even if they do get a second HD stream into the house, what about a 3rd? or a 4th? Over the next few years as your old secondary TV's break down or you get that big fat bonus you've been waiting for at work, chances are you're going to have multiple HDTV's in your house in the near future. I'm not too keen on jumping on board with a company that already has foreseeable growth issues. I see a '550MHz problem' all over again. I've said it before: if you only have one TV in your house then U-verse seems like a very good option. However if you have/want multiple TV's, there are just too many limitiations...even if they add the 2nd HD stream.

Was the surfing with a DVR? All DVRs that I've used have a lag time due to overhead for reinitializing the live buffer causing slow channel changing.
Yes it was.

We're kind of hijacking the Comcast thread with our U-verse discussion. I have created a Bay Area U-verse thread here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=773450&highlight=san+francisco++ca+uverse

Why don't we move this over there.

Yes it was.

One point - an IPTV system doesn't tune - it just requests the stream from the server. So the biggest delay in channel switching, even in digital cable is avoided in an IPTV system.

Thanks,
Mike

Mossberg from the WSJ dumps on the Comcast 3412. (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116726248529661013-DTN0XdxycVt2aDdTKblBbQF2k5Y_20071227.html)

Heh, glad it's not just some crazy tech-heads on this forum....

Does anyone here know of a comcast package that has locals + HD locals, but nothing else? With all these price increases and lack of HD programming (even in an 860 Mhz) market compared to Dish, I am thinking about switching, but I need to keep my HSI, and Comcast has better local programming and on-demand for the kids programming.

So I am wondering if I could get the best of both worlds and not pay a lot. I am converting back to Sage so integrated both sets of services in all the TV's in the house will not be an issue.

Dish is offering some very aggressive pricing on HD + SD programming now, and is quite a bit lower than comcast for more channels. Local is extra though and limited.

thanks,
Mike

Does anyone here know of a comcast package that has locals + HD locals, but nothing else? ...
Limited Basic, about $16/mo + $5/mo for HD STB.

Is anyone else having a problem with their favorites starting yesterday?

No HD channels will now show up in my favorites list, and when I try to create a new favorites list, it won't even select!

And it's not like the HD channels just got whiped from the list - they're still on the favorites list, they just don't show.

Comcast says this is the first they've heard of it.

Limited Basic, about $16/mo + $5/mo for HD STB.

I saw that too, but Limited basic doesn't include an STB, so is there another charge for the basic STB fee, or is that avoided this way? Also, given that NBC HD transmits at ch 115 or so, they can't block the analog tier from coming into the house with a filter. It doesn't matter to me because I will be doing all the video distribution from the server via CAT5, but I would think they would want to prevent analog theft in any case.

I assume this would also give me ADS for the local channels too.

Does anyone here have this package?

BTW, do you know where I can find the new comcast rate card for 2007? It's not on their website.

thanks,
mike

i've done this before and no, there is not other charge for the box. the $5 gets you the box and you'd get Fox,NBC,KRON,CBS,ABC, and KQED in hi-def.

a very good deal.

(i'm now doing this + $9.95 for Digital classic which gets me the addition HD channels of FSNHD, ESPN, ESPN2, INHD, Discovery Home Theater, TNT, MTV, UHD for a grand total of around $32 in Santa clara)

I saw that too, but Limited basic doesn't include an STB, so is there another charge for the basic STB fee, or is that avoided this way? Also, given that NBC HD transmits at ch 115 or so, they can't block the analog tier from coming into the house with a filter. It doesn't matter to me because I will be doing all the video distribution from the server via CAT5, but I would think they would want to prevent analog theft in any case.

I assume this would also give me ADS for the local channels too.

Does anyone here have this package?

BTW, do you know where I can find the new comcast rate card for 2007? It's not on their website.

thanks,
mike

Here's the story in the Merc today, re: $80M upgrade:

Comcast plans $80 million upgrade (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/16350900.htm)

Better cable service is on the way to several Bay Area cities that have been saddled with a weaker network in recent years.

Comcast this week announced an $80 million effort to ``turbo-charge'' its cable TV and Internet network in cities including San Leandro, Half Moon Bay, Sunnyvale, Los Gatos and Saratoga over the next year and a half.

Residents of those cities will receive services that had been available elsewhere in the region, such as digital telephone and video on demand. They'll also leapfrog neighboring cities in the bandwidth of their network, jumping from 550 MHz to 1 GHz.
I wonder how real the "18 months" is.

I saw that too, but Limited basic doesn't include an STB, so is there another charge for the basic STB fee, or is that avoided this way? Also, given that NBC HD transmits at ch 115 or so, they can't block the analog tier from coming into the house with a filter.

$5 is the HD STB rental fee. If your HDTV has QAM tuner, you don't even need the HD STB. Just pay for limited basic. The analog expanded basic channels are filtered with a notch filter, so you won't get channels 35-70 or so.

$5 is the HD STB rental fee. If your HDTV has QAM tuner, you don't even need the HD STB. Just pay for limited basic. The analog expanded basic channels are filtered with a notch filter, so you won't get channels 35-70 or so.

Interesting. A good deal indeed... I don't want to cheat Comcast. If I am viewing HD through a QAM tuner in the TV or via an HDHomeRun, I want to pay what I should. Otherwise it's theft an encourages them to do things that make all our lives a lot harder (like encrypting more programming!).

Thanks,
Mike

Those notch filters are a bit sloppy so you'll probably get half a dozen or so of the Expanded Basic channels located at each end of the notch.

I have Limited Basic with the S3 TiVo and I'm running Sage with the HDHR. I pay Comcast $19.37 per month, which gives me all the locals in HD which is all I want from them.

Have you set up the HDHR yet with Sage? I'm curious what your impressions on PQ are.

I don't want to cheat Comcast. If I am viewing HD through a QAM tuner in the TV or via an HDHomeRun, I want to pay what I should.

It's not cheating. The local HD channels are officially included as part of the limited basic service. $5 is for the HD STB rental, not HD service fee. If your HDTV supports CableCard, Comcast would even rent one CableCard to you for free.

Sorry in advance if this has been posted and I simply can't find it. I've done searches and discovered an open QAM list for Santa Cruz (on the SageTV.com site), but I can't find one for Los Gatos. Before I spring for an HDHomeRun or OnAir GT, does anyone have a list of what's unencrypted and available in Los Gatos? If no one has a list I'll post one once I get whatever box I end up with.
Thanks!

eelpout--

The lists are not posted because the assignments vary from headend to headend and from month to month at Comcast's whim, so lists are of very limited value. You'll find the clear QAM channels by scanning all 125 (or 135, if your tuner is set up for 860 MHz) of them. Aside from the local OTA HD channels (including all but KBCW and KBWB) you'll find only erratic Video On Demand that your neighbors happen to be watching and the occasional "free preview" of HBO, Showtime, or ESPN. These last are typically for a week or so only.

PS: You'll also find low-resolution digital versions of the analog channels, the so-called ADS channels, if you're interested.

Those notch filters are a bit sloppy so you'll probably get half a dozen or so of the Expanded Basic channels located at each end of the notch.

I have Limited Basic with the S3 TiVo and I'm running Sage with the HDHR. I pay Comcast $19.37 per month, which gives me all the locals in HD which is all I want from them.

Have you set up the HDHR yet with Sage? I'm curious what your impressions on PQ are.

Keenan, I am just working on the backend mostly now. I have an MCE system that will act as a Sage client when i convert over, but I want to get the backend stuff worked out first.

The video it captures seems great on playback on my PC's. HD is good, and SD is fine too in a native resolution window. It just captures the digital feed, so the HDHomeRun does no encoding. It's the native resolution of the signal. Think of it like an R5000-HD without the ability to receieve encrypted channels. That's why the HDHomeRun and the R5000-HD are good friends. You use the HDHR tuners for all the programs you can, and then only use the R5000-HD for encrypted programming. It's like hamburger helper in this setup.

thanks,
mike

Keenan, I am just working on the backend mostly now. I have an MCE system that will act as a Sage client when i convert over, but I want to get the backend stuff worked out first.

The video it captures seems great on playback on my PC's. HD is good, and SD is fine too in a native resolution window. It just captures the digital feed, so the HDHomeRun does no encoding. It's the native resolution of the signal. Think of it like an R5000-HD without the ability to receieve encrypted channels. That's why the HDHomeRun and the R5000-HD are good friends. You use the HDHR tuners for all the programs you can, and then only use the R5000-HD for encrypted programming. It's like hamburger helper in this setup.

thanks,
mike
Yes, both devices work very well. My query was more along the lines of PQ when seen on your main display, assuming you're using something other than a PC monitor. I'm sure the HDHR has nothing to do with, but whatever combo of playback decoders chosen within Sage, Nvideo PureVideo, etc. the PQ when seen using a 1920x1080i output is a bit noisy. Doing a direct comparison from the TiVo S3 output to what Sage displays leaves something to be desired, it's just not as "clean" sharp, or clear as the S3 output. I also get macroblocking with close action such as football that I don't get with S3.

My best uneducated guess is that there is something with the Nvidia/hardware/software that's just not up to snuff preventing a clean image from being displayed.

The source hardware, both the HDHR and the R5000 system work perfect and merge well with the Sage system. I only really noticed this difference in outputs since I've had the HDHR as with my Star Choice R5000 setup I never really viewed the SC STB directly as there was no way to use it as a DVR.

Also having a heck of a time with video stuttering with 1080i material with Sage, 720p is fine, but it doesn't have anything to do with the 2 hardware sources, it's something, again, with Sage and/or the playback software.

Anyway, assuming you'll be able to compare the Sage cable output to a direct cable output, I'm curious what your thoughts will be on the PQ, currently, I'm not all that happy with it. I'm very happy with how everything works with the setup, but it's missing that last, most important piece, how it looks on screen.

BTW, are you the same MikeSM that posts at Sage?

It will be interesting to see as time goes on how much the PC-based tuners will be able to hold up against dedicated decoding devices such as the S3 and STB's. I had a MyHD card about a year ago but ultimately returned it because a) I realized I watched too many encrypted channels, and b) I could never get the quality of the picture up to where I wanted it. I just use my MCE box and nice front-end to the movies/TV shows I've ripped or downloaded. I'm really looking forward to when PC manufacturers begin releasing CableCARD compliant PC's but alas I fear I'm setting myself up (again) for disappointment. Over the last few months, Microsoft and CableLabs have really stripped down the functionality in the initial implementation.

It will be interesting to see as time goes on how much the PC-based tuners will be able to hold up against dedicated decoding devices such as the S3 and STB's. I had a MyHD card about a year ago but ultimately returned it because a) I realized I watched too many encrypted channels, and b) I could never get the quality of the picture up to where I wanted it. I just use my MCE box and nice front-end to the movies/TV shows I've ripped or downloaded. I'm really looking forward to when PC manufacturers begin releasing CableCARD compliant PC's but alas I fear I'm setting myself up (again) for disappointment. Over the last few months, Microsoft and CableLabs have really stripped down the functionality in the initial implementation.Most people who make such statements about MyHD turn out to be watching its 480p desktop overlay window rather than its actual HD output, which is among the highest-quality HDTV hardware rendering available. If that was not your problem, what are you talking about?

Is anyone else having a problem with their favorites starting yesterday?

No HD channels will now show up in my favorites list, and when I try to create a new favorites list, it won't even select!

And it's not like the HD channels just got whiped from the list - they're still on the favorites list, they just don't show.

Comcast says this is the first they've heard of it.
I am having the same issue. Both of my 6412's are having the same issue. The 700 series channels are shown as favorites on the setup screen but do not appear in my "favorites" listings. This has been going on the last few days.

Most people who make such statements about MyHD turn out to be watching its 480p desktop overlay window rather than its actual HD output, which is among the highest-quality HDTV hardware rendering available. If that was not your problem, what are you talking about?

No, definitely wasn't the 480p overlay. It was more of a "jitter" picture and instability of the overall system. I never thought the problem was the actual MyHD card, but probably more of the system hardware I was using. I was using my secondary PC which is a P4 1.8GHz but almost all of the parts were "scrapped" from other PC's (i.e. hard drive, memory, etc.). I didn't have the time/patience to try and diagnose at the time.

I just use my MCE box and nice front-end to the movies/TV shows I've ripped or downloaded.
That's basically what my HTPC has been reduced to as HDTV PQ ain't cuttin' the mustard.

I feel pretty certain though that the problem lies with the software, specifically Nvidia, yet others say they have no problem, so I don't know, I play with it every once in awhile at the same time waiting until hopefully someone says "hey, I figured out the problem".

On a different subject, is KGO ever going to fix that blurring problem? Man, it looks bad when it does that.

Really, what cheap bastards. I had to switch to KABC feed.

Last night and this morning, the KGO-HD feed on MPEG4 had some ghosting/halo problems. No such problem on the Comcast feed or the KABC feed.

But yeah for sports, I have to watch KABC instead of KGO.

I didn't have the time/patience to try and diagnose at the time.This is the reason that PC tuner cards are a niche market, not that they can't/don't "keep up" with STB solutions. ;)

Isn't Media Center Edition suppose to support CableCard and Direct TV at some point?

And supposedly, these must be prebuilt PCs to protect the DRM, not something which you can build yourself and install MCE.

Isn't Media Center Edition suppose to support CableCard and Direct TV at some point?

And supposedly, these must be prebuilt PCs to protect the DRM, not something which you can build yourself and install MCE.


Yes and Yes. ;)

And my homebuilt MCE machine is essentially a library of ripped DVDs, a photo album and mp3 jukebox. I'm about to rip out one of it's two WinTV cards so I can put in a controller card to bring the HDD count up to 7.

And my homebuilt MCE machine is essentially a library of ripped DVDs, a photo album and mp3 jukebox. I'm about to rip out one of it's two WinTV cards so I can put in a controller card to bring the HDD count up to 7.

Sounds like you should try to convince your employer to replace the motorola boxes with your MCE setup and offer that to customers as the next generation STB :D

...

My best uneducated guess is that there is something with the Nvidia/hardware/software that's just not up to snuff preventing a clean image from being displayed.

...

Also having a heck of a time with video stuttering with 1080i material with Sage, 720p is fine, but it doesn't have anything to do with the 2 hardware sources, it's something, again, with Sage and/or the playback software.

Anyway, assuming you'll be able to compare the Sage cable output to a direct cable output, I'm curious what your thoughts will be on the PQ, currently, I'm not all that happy with it. I'm very happy with how everything works with the setup, but it's missing that last, most important piece, how it looks on screen.

BTW, are you the same MikeSM that posts at Sage?


Yes, I am the same MikeSM at the Sage list.

It took a lot of time before I got a really good HD output on my Sony SXRD. This so far has been with MCE. I have a 7900GTO as my video card - overkill, but with Purevideo, it seems to work really well. And pretty quiet as well. It's connected to the display with HDMI, and at 1080p. I had all kinds of problems with my earlier rig, because of codecs and such, and found that my 6600GT wasn't fast enough to do 1080p natively.

I am a big fan of nvidia and purevideo, but boy what a PITA it was to get set right. Audio was actually more a problem than video, but with the new Realtek 882D on my motherboard, things are so much easier. MCE had a lot fewer options than Sage, but in some ways it was easier. With the right hardware, it seems to be easier.

Thanks,
Mike

What's the holdup in getting KBCW in HD? Some kind of spitting match between Comcast and Time Warner? My son wants Smallville and I do hate to watch anything in low def. Has Comcast ever suggested when this is going to happen? Heaven knows they could dump the waste of bandwidth that is the KRON HD loop in favor of something with actual programming . . . even if a lot of the programming is pretty weak.

What's the holdup in getting KBCW in HD? Some kind of spitting match between Comcast and Time Warner? My son wants Smallville and I do hate to watch anything in low def. Has Comcast ever suggested when this is going to happen? Heaven knows they could dump the waste of bandwidth that is the KRON HD loop in favor of something with actual programming . . . even if a lot of the programming is pretty weak.

i too have avoided watching CW since i got my HD programming two years ago. recently i did add an indoor antenna with the sole purpose of getting CW. even though they only have 2 hours of HD programming a night, there are some gems in there; everyone hates chris, veronica mars, smallville, supernatural are all kinda neat to check out in HD. no 5.1 though??

It seems that for the last few weeks most of my HD seems to be very soft.

Last night I watched NCIS on KPIX 5 (first time) and the pic was well, average. I have Comcast and the 6412 S3 box. It's not just KPIX. Most of the locals look soft. I have made no connection or TV adjustment settings.

Any one else notice this?

Matt

Have you been to the optometrist lately? :D

Quick question for those of us with the TiVo S3 and CableCards - I vaguely remember that at some point Comcast, or an outside firm contracted by Comcast, was going to call us up to "pair" the CableCards with our TiVo host. Should this have happened by now? I haven't had such a call, and my TiVo continues to work... just curious I guess.

Quick question for those of us with the TiVo S3 and CableCards - I vaguely remember that at some point Comcast, or an outside firm contracted by Comcast, was going to call us up to "pair" the CableCards with our TiVo host. Should this have happened by now? I haven't had such a call, and my TiVo continues to work... just curious I guess.
It should be happening soon, their deadline is Feb. You could give them a call at this direct number 866-612-0584. I have the number because for some reason the computer system would not take my numbers and we went back and forth about 4 times before it worked.

Is anyone else having a problem with their favorites starting yesterday?

No HD channels will now show up in my favorites list, and when I try to create a new favorites list, it won't even select!

And it's not like the HD channels just got whiped from the list - they're still on the favorites list, they just don't show.

Comcast says this is the first they've heard of it.

Same problem here. Last night the HD channels disappeared from the guide listing entirely, but I tuned to 702 and they they showed up again. I'll try pulling the plug tonight.

I'm in Fremont and am experiencing severe distortion, pixelization, and a freezing picture on all channels. This is happening on both hi-def sets in my house. Anyone else seeing this?

No "King of Queens" for me tonight. :mad:

I'm in Fremont and am experiencing severe distortion, pixelization, and a freezing picture on all channels. This is happening on both hi-def sets in my house. Anyone else seeing this?

No "King of Queens" for me tonight. :mad:

I'm seeing something similar. On my TV the Irish seem to be getting their butts kicked -- I hope it's just my TV and not a widespread problem. :(

I'm seeing something similar. On my TV the Irish seem to be getting their butts kicked -- I hope it's just my TV and not a widespread problem. :(

Alas, as ND class of 1983, I sadly must report that the distortion appears to extend up to Mill Valley too. It looked so bad that it appeared that the Irish just lost their ninth bowl game in a row. The distortion was not sufficient, unfortunately, to make Charlie Weis look thin . . . ;)

It seems that for the last few weeks most of my HD seems to be very soft.

Last night I watched NCIS on KPIX 5 (first time) and the pic was well, average. I have Comcast and the 6412 S3 box. It's not just KPIX. Most of the locals look soft. I have made no connection or TV adjustment settings.

Any one else notice this?

Matt

Not only does HD look "soft", but all my SD channels that have now been converted to ADS have mpeg artifacts, and dropouts. Seems like PQ that was always a highpoint for COMCAST is slipping. But when I go direct from cable to QAM tuner the PQ is better (minus the known problems like ABCHD and TNTHD focus/defocus, etc.

On another note I tried to get a phone number to call to find out when AT&T U-Verse would be available in my area. Web site says NOT NOW, but anybody know how to find out WHEN?

Not only does HD look "soft", but all my SD channels that have now been converted to ADS have mpeg artifacts, and dropouts. Seems like PQ that was always a highpoint for COMCAST is slipping. But when I go direct from cable to QAM tuner the PQ is better (minus the known problems like ABCHD and TNTHD focus/defocus, etc.WOW...I felt the same way. I am using QAM on a smaller LCD TV so I wasn't sure if I would comment, but the PQ was much sharper than from the Comcast HD box on a 50" plasma. I was flipping channels awhile back when "Finding Nemo" came on ABC. I ran down to my QAM LCD TV and couldn't believe how much better it looked so I watched it there instead.

I'm in Fremont and am experiencing severe distortion, pixelization, and a freezing picture on all channels. This is happening on both hi-def sets in my house. Anyone else seeing this?

No "King of Queens" for me tonight. :mad:
I only saw it on Friday Night Lights, but it was really bad. As bad as the pixelization was, the choppy audio was even worse since you couldn't follow the dialogue.

I'm in Fremont and am experiencing severe distortion, pixelization, and a freezing picture on all channels. This is happening on both hi-def sets in my house. Anyone else seeing this?I'm in Benicia, and on Tuesday night, I had pretty much a total dropout (no audio, and pretty much random images on video) of KGO-HD during the ABC news at 5:30 (which, I assume, was in HD), but everything was fine when KGO's own news (in SD) started at 6:00.

-- Don

i've done this before and no, there is not other charge for the box. the $5 gets you the box and you'd get Fox,NBC,KRON,CBS,ABC, and KQED in hi-def.

a very good deal.

(i'm now doing this + $9.95 for Digital classic which gets me the addition HD channels of FSNHD, ESPN, ESPN2, INHD, Discovery Home Theater, TNT, MTV, UHD for a grand total of around $32 in Santa clara)Let me get this straight. I can downgrade to Limited Basic, plus Digital Classic for only $9.95 more? (Plus, I assume, another $10 for the HD DVR?) and all I will lose are the old "B" analog channels? (Maybe less, depending on their filter)

This sounds like a very smart way to go, from a value standpoint. But, I thought the Digital Classic tier was much more expensive. I also thought it required the Expanded Basic package.

This sounds like a very smart way to go, from a value standpoint. But, I thought the Digital Classic tier was much more expensive. I also thought it required the Expanded Basic package.

Whether you can get digital classic without expanded basic is YMMV. My local Comcast office said no, but two different phone reps said yes.

Let me get this straight. I can downgrade to Limited Basic, plus Digital Classic for only $9.95 more? (Plus, I assume, another $10 for the HD DVR?) and all I will lose are the old "B" analog channels? (Maybe less, depending on their filter)

This sounds like a very smart way to go, from a value standpoint. But, I thought the Digital Classic tier was much more expensive. I also thought it required the Expanded Basic package.
To get the Comcast DVR Expanded Basic is required.

That's too bad. I need the DVR. I couldn't imagine TV without it. So, I guess I'll be keeping Expanded Basic.

Also, I originally thought that Digital Classic tier price of $9.95 seemed low. But, looking at my bill, I see that the Digital Silver package that I have, which includes Digital Classic, Digital Plus, and HBO is $30. So, the $9.95 for Classic seems about right.

That's too bad. I need the DVR. I couldn't imagine TV without it. So, I guess I'll be keeping Expanded Basic.

Alternatively, the expanded basic monthly fees can be used to get a TiVo S3.

Alternatively, the expanded basic monthly fees can be used to get a TiVo S3.Is Comcast still charging for the cablecards?

$1.50 for two CableCards.

Really? That's great. What happened to $6.95 each? It makes the S3 a viable alternative.

Really? That's great. What happened to $6.95 each? It makes the S3 a viable alternative. OTOH, they charge like $12.95/month or something, right?

Switching gears. I noticed they're dropping more PPV channels in my area. (Smart idea as it's just wasted bandwidth with OnDemand available.) Is this a good sign that they might be adding more HD? What's the word on the street?

Really? That's great. What happened to $6.95 each? It makes the S3 a viable alternative. OTOH, they charge like $12.95/month or something, right?

$6.95 is supposed to be the additional digital outlet charge. The correct charge for this area is: free for the 1st card and $1.50 for the 2nd card. The $6.95 outlet charge still applies if you have other devices on your account.

With one TiVo, the lowest subscription fee is $299 for 3 years. You can also get the lifetime service by buying a used TiVo with lifetime and pay the $199 VIP transfer fee. Visit www.tivocommunity.com for more info about the S3.

$6.95 is supposed to be the additional digital outlet charge. The correct charge for this area is: free for the 1st card and $1.50 for the 2nd card. The $6.95 outlet charge still applies if you have other devices on your account.

With one TiVo, the lowest subscription fee is $299 for 3 years. You can also get the lifetime service by buying a used TiVo with lifetime and pay the $199 VIP transfer fee. Visit www.tivocommunity.com for more info about the S3.

wow, everyone that speaks favorably about the s3 likes to ignore the 800 (dollar) pound gorilla. the damn machine is really expensive. a comcast dvr is 10 bucks a month. assuming TIVO has no monthly charges (alternatively you can negate the added-value of TIVO's functionality with the TIVO subscription fees), you'd have to use your s3 80 months (6-7 years!) before you can start to cost-justify your purchase.

i'm also assuming you keep the same level of programming with comcast. ie i need to keep digital classic + expanded basic because i need ESPNHD.

i bought an HDDVD player for half that price :)

of course, i saw in the latest leaflet in the last bill that Digital Classic is going up to 11.95/mo.

sigh...

That's too bad. I need the DVR. I couldn't imagine TV without it. So, I guess I'll be keeping Expanded Basic.

Also, I originally thought that Digital Classic tier price of $9.95 seemed low. But, looking at my bill, I see that the Digital Silver package that I have, which includes Digital Classic, Digital Plus, and HBO is $30. So, the $9.95 for Classic seems about right.

wow, everyone that speaks favorably about the s3 likes to ignore the 800 (dollar) pound gorilla. the damn machine is really expensive. a comcast dvr is 10 bucks a month. assuming TIVO has no monthly charges (alternatively you can negate the added-value of TIVO's functionality with the TIVO subscription fees), you'd have to use your s3 80 months (6-7 years!) before you can start to cost-justify your purchase.

i'm also assuming you keep the same level of programming with comcast. ie i need to keep digital classic + expanded basic because i need ESPNHD.

i bought an HDDVD player for half that price :)

You have to pay Comcast at least $76 to get the DVR. If you really want all the channels, then the cost of the DVR is only $12/month. With S3, I pay Comcast just $17/month for limited basic and CableCards.

If you can trade expanded basic with S3, then:
expanded basic: -$37
Comcast DVR: -$12
CableCards: +$1.50
S3 sub: $8.30 ($299 for 3 years)

Difference in monthly fees is about $39. S3 hardware is $680 or less, so the breakeven point is about 17 months. At the end of the 17 months, you still own the S3 hardware worth a few hundred dollars.

BTW, you don't need expanded basic for ESPNHD, just digital classic.

You have to pay Comcast at least $76 to get the DVR. If you really want all the channels, then the cost of the DVR is only $12/month. With S3, I pay Comcast just $17/month for limited basic and CableCards.

If you can trade expanded basic with S3, then:
expanded basic: -$37
Comcast DVR: -$12
CableCards: +$1.50
S3 sub: $8.30 ($299 for 3 years)

Difference in monthly fees is about $39. S3 hardware is $680 or less, so the breakeven point is about 17 months. At the end of the 17 months, you still own the S3 hardware.

you and i both agree that if you care only about limited basic, than an S3 makes much more economic sense, but you still need digital + expanded to get the ESPNHDs of the world (which i NEED). i don't want to own the motorola box LOL.

BTW, you don't need expanded basic for ESPNHD, just digital classic.

is that true? why would they give you the HD version w/o the underlying SD version? what about TNT and UHD?

Really? That's great. What happened to $6.95 each?I think TiVo happened, they call i t "TiVo Digital Access", I think they were going to get a lot of complaints if they called each card an extra outlet. It makes the S3 a viable alternative. OTOH, they charge like $12.95/month or something, right?TiVo do, which is why I got lifetime.

is that true? why would they give you the HD version w/o the underlying SD version? what about TNT and UHD?

Yes, digital classic gives you ALL of the non-premium HD channels. Whether you can subscribe to digital classic without expanded basic is another story. I could.

Yes, digital classic gives you ALL of the non-premium HD channels. Whether you can subscribe to digital classic without expanded basic is another story. I could.
Correct, and if you're lucky like me and get ESPN-HD, DISC-HD and FSNBA-HD without having Digital Classic, you're that much more ahead on the S3 amoritization. :D

Switching gears. I noticed they're dropping more PPV channels in my area. (Smart idea as it's just wasted bandwidth with OnDemand available.) Is this a good sign that they might be adding more HD? What's the word on the street?
They dropped a PPV up here in Santa Rosa also in the past few days. It was 801 or 808, I don't recall which, the message was on my S3 and I deleted it already.

Anyone get the Golf-HD/Versus-HD channel in the bay area yet?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=780943
Golf Channel HD / Versus HD - Premiers on Comcast! - AVS Forum

Anyone get the Golf-HD/Versus-HD channel in the bay area yet?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=780943
Golf Channel HD / Versus HD - Premiers on Comcast! - AVS Forum

Not on mine.

Anyone get the Golf-HD/Versus-HD channel in the bay area yet?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=780943
Golf Channel HD / Versus HD - Premiers on Comcast! - AVS Forum

In Fremont channel 721 is listed as "To Be Announced" but not authorized.

Our yearly "Comcast Products and Services Price List" arrived, and I am as amazed as ever at how opaque this document is--and how much it doesn't map to Comcast's own website. The list gives prices for Limited Basic, Expanded Basic (not available separately), Standard Cable, Family Tier (which cannot be combined with expanded Basic), and Enhanced Cable/Value Package. There are other "package prices & digital tiers" which do not include Standard Cable (whatever Standard Cable is): Digital Classic, Plus, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, plus two tiers not available in all areas: Premier and Sports.

Go to the website, and under "channel lineup," you can see what you would get for a whole bookcase of packages, some of which are not on the list. What's "Starter Video?" What's "Preferred Video?" And if you want to know prices, that information is elsewhere....sort of. " The shopping section has prices for some of the bundles, but not all of them. Interested in Expanded Basic? Now that you've figured out what it is, that price (as far as I can see) is only found on the list, not the website.

I'd love to know whether this opacity is by design or inadvertent. My cynical side suspects the former, but know how things work in the real world, I'd bet the latter. The subtext seems to be: if you want service, please call our representatives, many of whom are almost as confused as you are.

Our yearly "Comcast Products and Services Price List" arrived, and I am as amazed as ever at how opaque this document is--and how much it doesn't map to Comcast's own website. The list gives prices for Limited Basic, Expanded Basic (not available separately), Standard Cable, Family Tier (which cannot be combined with expanded Basic), and Enhanced Cable/Value Package. There are other "package prices & digital tiers" which do not include Standard Cable (whatever Standard Cable is): Digital Classic, Plus, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, plus two tiers not available in all areas: Premier and Sports.

Go to the website, and under "channel lineup," you can see what you would get for a whole bookcase of packages, some of which are not on the list. What's "Starter Video?" What's "Preferred Video?" And if you want to know prices, that information is elsewhere....sort of. " The shopping section has prices for some of the bundles, but not all of them. Interested in Expanded Basic? Now that you've figured out what it is, that price (as far as I can see) is only found on the list, not the website.

I'd love to know whether this opacity is by design or inadvertent. My cynical side suspects the former, but know how things work in the real world, I'd bet the latter. The subtext seems to be: if you want service, please call our representatives, many of whom are almost as confused as you are.

Can you post the rate card here? It doesn't seem to be available anywhere online.

Thanks,
Mike

I noticed those new package names in the Channel Lineup as well. Plus, the lack of packages in the Shopping area is embarrassing. WTH is wrong with these people? How hard is it to standardize your products and prices? I understand they are dealing with many different municipalities and systems, and thus, prices and available packages. But, if they would just settle on a few basic and simple packages/tiers like D* and E*, tailoring them slightly to each area/system, it would make everybody's life easier, both customers and Comcast employees alike.

Our yearly "Comcast Products and Services Price List" arrived, and I am as amazed as ever at how opaque this document is--and how much it doesn't map to Comcast's own website. The list gives prices for Limited Basic, Expanded Basic (not available separately), Standard Cable, Family Tier (which cannot be combined with expanded Basic), and Enhanced Cable/Value Package. There are other "package prices & digital tiers" which do not include Standard Cable (whatever Standard Cable is): Digital Classic, Plus, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, plus two tiers not available in all areas: Premier and Sports.

Go to the website, and under "channel lineup," you can see what you would get for a whole bookcase of packages, some of which are not on the list. What's "Starter Video?" What's "Preferred Video?" And if you want to know prices, that information is elsewhere....sort of. " The shopping section has prices for some of the bundles, but not all of them. Interested in Expanded Basic? Now that you've figured out what it is, that price (as far as I can see) is only found on the list, not the website.

I'd love to know whether this opacity is by design or inadvertent. My cynical side suspects the former, but know how things work in the real world, I'd bet the latter. The subtext seems to be: if you want service, please call our representatives, many of whom are almost as confused as you are.

They dropped a PPV up here in Santa Rosa also in the past few days. It was 801 or 808, I don't recall which, the message was on my S3 and I deleted it already.You get cable company mail messages on the S3?

You get cable company mail messages on the S3?

The message is related to a lineup change, not a message directly from Comcast.

I noticed those new package names in the Channel Lineup as well. Plus, the lack of packages in the Shopping area is embarrassing. WTH is wrong with these people? How hard is it to standardize your products and prices? I understand they are dealing with many different municipalities and systems, and thus, prices and available packages. But, if they would just settle on a few basic and simple packages/tiers like D* and E*, tailoring them slightly to each area/system, it would make everybody's life easier, both customers and Comcast employees alike.

I'd speculate that they have to publish one list (the card) for regulatory purposes (that people throw away), but as far as the website (where people are more likely to look) they'd just like you to be able to see the most profitable packages for them :o

I'd like to see this rate card. Is it available online anywhere? Barte- When you say it "arrived", do you mean in the mail?

my "rate sheet" arrived with my recent bill.

(in the snail mail)

I'd like to see this rate card. Is it available online anywhere? Barte- When you say it "arrived", do you mean in the mail?

Every Jan a rate sheet and channel list is sent with the bill. I remember reading something about it being a FCC requirement.

The message is related to a lineup change, not a message directly from Comcast.
Exactly, I think I had one message from Comcast in the whole 2+ years I had the 6xxx Moto boxes. I've had about 5-6 messages from TiVo about lineup changes since Sept(or whenever it was the S3 became available).

Exactly, I think I had one message from Comcast in the whole 2+ years I had the 6xxx Moto boxes. I've had about 5-6 messages from TiVo about lineup changes since Sept(or whenever it was the S3 became available).Odd. I get at least 2 emails per week from Comcast on my 3412, and 6412 before that.

Every Jan a rate sheet and channel list is sent with the bill. I remember reading something about it being a FCC requirement.Cool. I haven't gotten my January bill yet.

Every Jan a rate sheet and channel list is sent with the bill. I remember reading something about it being a FCC requirement.

Mine came with the January bill, as well. You are probably better off looking at your own, as I think the prices vary by region.

Is there any guide to which "digtial" radio stations I have on my cable from channel 960 onwards?

They have absolutely no clues about what's what I can find. I've searched this thread and it seems that 960 is KQED, which I'd guessed, but what about the rest of them?

Is there a secret decoder ring somewhere? Also why can't Comcast tell me this?

Is there any guide to which "digtial" radio stations I have on my cable from channel 960 onwards?

They have absolutely no clues about what's what I can find. I've searched this thread and it seems that 960 is KQED, which I'd guessed, but what about the rest of them?

Is there a secret decoder ring somewhere? Also why can't Comcast tell me this?
With your Jan bill you should get a rate sheet and on the back of it there should be a channel lineup. At least that's what happened last year for me but I haven't gotten my Jan bill yet. It's there in the guide for my DCT-6200 so we should bug TiVo to update their guide data.
From Jan 2006 channel lineup:
960 KQED
961 KRCB
962 KCSM
963 KSJO
964 KNGY
965 KRZZ
966 KJZY
967 KPFA
968 KBAY
969 KYLD
970 KRTY
971 KZBR
972 KOIT
973 KLLC
974 KISQ
975 KUFX
976 KSOL
977 KFRC
978 KZST
979 KBRG
980 KIOI
981 KDFC
982 KBLX
983 KKSF
984 KFOG
985 KRPQ
986 KITS
987 KMEL
988 KEZR
989 KSAN

I got a message on my DCT-6200 that 518 Encore West was moving to Digital Classic effective Jan 4. It's still not viewable for me and shows as "Subscription Service". So for anyone with just Digital Classic can you view 518?

I downloaded my "paper statement" from online viewing (eg, the PDF file), for Foster City... here's the price & channel lists...
I was hoping to copy/paste text, but it's an image in the PDF, sorry for PNG download...

nuts, attachment upload limit is 800x640, and I need tall pics :(
where is my OCR software...

It didn't list any FM/radio stations or music channels, just TV channels.

It listed Encore West 518 (and other Encores) as part of "Digital Plus", not "Digital Classic"... I don't get any movie channels or Encore stuff, and other stuff in Digital Plus (Sundance 505, DIY 204, etc.) I don't get either, so YMMV.

Anyways, I noted that Tivo S3 program guide now correctly lists FSBA-HD programs!
It's all "OFF AIR" until scheduled sports etc. events actually show up. Very nice.

This is the message, Title "Encore West moving"
"Eff 1/4/07, Encore - West moves from Digital Plus to Digital Classic. Encore - West will still be availlable on the same display channel of 518. The Encore multiplexes will remain on Digital Plus."

Hello, sorry for the newbie question but I've spent considerable time searching for an answer to my problem -- I can't seem to find KTVU (Fox) HD using my QAM tuner. I do see an additional KTVU feed at 114-1, but it is in SD (even during the NFL game today). So I'd really like to find it prior to the BCS game tomorrow.

I'm in Palo Alto, close to Bryant and Embarcadero. Can someone give me a pointer to the Fox HD channel?

I've taken to cataloging the channels I've found in a spreadsheet, but it seems that this work might have been done already by someone?

KTVU-HD and KPIX-HD on Bay Area Comcast systems are usually paired on the same rf channel (79 in my case) but they are sent with a cable version of the OTA PSIP, so that your TV probably will show them as "2.1" and "5.1" rather than "79.1" and "79.2".

In Santa Clara KTVU-HD is 2-1

Well, from the looks of the announcements at CES it looks like 2007 is once again the "year of the Home Media/Digital Entertainment". There were a few companies who announced CableCARD-based products (Sony, AMD, Dell/ATI) but the info was a bit hazy and most were pretty expensive computers (i.e. $3000+). I'm optimistic though that the big players are finally taking heed to those of us who who subscribe to digital cable and want the power and flexibility to choose how we watch and record TV. Below are a list of links to some of the products/announcements:


ATI Digital Cable Tuner: http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070107005072&newsLang=en
Diego (Moxi): http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2007-01/diego-announces-two-stand-alone-hd-dvrs/
Sony Vaio Media Center: http://news.sel.sony.com/en/press_room/consumer/computer_peripheral/desktops/release/27035.html
HP 1080p LCD w/ Built-In Media Extender: http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/08/hp-mediasmart-hdtv-with-vista-media-center-extender/

Hi.

I was wondering if the following "ghosting" behavior was a product of Santa Clara Comcast's bandwidth or my TV.

When watching HD sports (on ESPN, NBC, ABC, CBS, etc), things look crystal clear when you see closeups, like when you see someone prepare to take a free throw. However, when the camera goes to take in the whole scene...like let's say a half court set in basketball. Or the whole line of scrimmage in football, all the players get a little granulated as they move. I assume it's either that the TV can't refresh/update to keep pace with all the picture changes, or that Comcast isn't sending enough bandwidth over.

Does anyone else experience this on their HD TVs? (I have a Syntax LT42HVi if that makes any difference).

Thanks.

KTVU-HD and KPIX-HD on Bay Area Comcast systems are usually paired on the same rf channel

Thank you! Sure enough, same deal with me, 122.1 is KTVU-HD and 122.2 is KPIX-HD.

Those in attendance will finally get to see this in action at the CES!


Here's the text of the AP blurb (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070108/gadget_show_comcast_tivo.html?.v=1&printer=1):

AP
Comcast, TiVo Unveil DVR Collaboration
Monday January 8, 10:23 am ET
Comcast Digital Video Recorders Get Makeover With TiVo Software

NEW YORK (AP) -- Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable operator, said Monday that its digital video recorder boxes will now feature software from TiVo Inc.
For an additional fee, Comcast subscribers can add TiVo DVR features to their existing set-top boxes without a visit from a technician, Comcast said. TiVo lets TV watchers search for and record their favorite shows, suggests others they might enjoy, and schedule last-minute recording from the Web.

The two companies announced plans to collaborate in March 2005, and have been testing the service in late 2006. TiVo and Comcast are demonstrating the new service at the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas this week.

Shares of TiVo gained 21 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $5.66 in morning trading, while Comcast's stock dipped 24 cents to $42.31, both on the Nasdaq.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable operator, said Monday that its digital video recorder boxes will NOW feature software from TiVo Inc.

Okay...I'm ready....where is it???? Comcast???? I'm ready!!

They dropped a PPV up here in Santa Rosa also in the past few days. It was 801 or 808, I don't recall which, the message was on my S3 and I deleted it already.
I recall a message not too long ago saying that they were dropping (I think it was) InDemand 8 and 9. I thought it also said that it was because InDemand was no longer providing material for those channels, but I could have read it wrong.

-- Don

This is the message, Title "Encore West moving"
"Eff 1/4/07, Encore - West moves from Digital Plus to Digital Classic. Encore - West will still be availlable on the same display channel of 518. The Encore multiplexes will remain on Digital Plus."

Another newbie question: how do you read the messages on the 6200. I see the message light...but can't figure out how to read it.

Another newbie question: how do you read the messages on the 6200. I see the message light...but can't figure out how to read it.

hit the menu key on the remote and then choose the messages "button" on the screen.

Thank you. One more of life's mysteries.....solved.

Well, from the looks of the announcements at CES it looks like 2007 is once again the "year of the Home Media/Digital Entertainment".

The Moxi is the coolest looking UI I seen, second place was ATT U_verse :eek: PIP features.

Though the Moxis were mox ups.

On a more realistic note, I seen new DCTs that meet the July 1 requirements, mostly a pretty face on boxes about the same size, and the cable card slot on the back.

Panasonic has a working OCAP set top in demo. Had The Company's logo on the front. While the features and and advancement in technology were OK, the channel changing speed was nothing to rub in U_Verse's face.

Feet are sore, but I'm going back tomorrow.

On a more realistic note, I seen new DCTs that meet the July 1 requirements, mostly a pretty face on boxes about the same size, and the cable card slot on the back.There's something about that sentence I'm apparently not visualizing properly.

I assume that, by DCT, you mean a set-top cable box? Why would it need a CableCard slot? (Or is it just some sort of digital-to-analog-signal converter - but I thought the deadline for that was in early 2009?)

-- Don

There's something about that sentence I'm apparently not visualizing properly.

I assume that, by DCT, you mean a set-top cable box? Why would it need a CableCard slot? (Or is it just some sort of digital-to-analog-signal converter - but I thought the deadline for that was in early 2009?)
Not sure if he is talking about a past July 1st deadline that was lobbied away or some future July 1st deadline upcoming, but there was at some point a mandated cutoff date where all cable STBs must use standardized external encryption, which forced the cable companies to create CableCARD and CableLabs.

The thinking was if the cable companies were forced to use the same external encryption that they designed for other CE companies to use, it would naturally become feature rich and reliable enough to spur competition and innovation.

Well the deadline was lobbied away and I'm not sure if there is any new deadline. There might be, I just haven't looked into it.

IMO if it wasn't for TiVo S3, CableCARD would be completely dead.

Finally they are showing CC-QAM tuner cards. But only 1 tuner?

Finally they are showing CC-QAM tuner cards. But only 1 tuner?

Yeah, that seems to be what's going on. A little disappointing. Even more disappointing is the fact that Dell and Sony will only sell these with computers that cost a small fortune. I dislike the Moto STB...but not enough to shell out $3500 for one tuner.

Is it true that as of yesterday, KRON is no longer broadcasting its HD channel? Although I only watched it occassionally, I enjoy all the HD I can handle and will miss Bay Area Backroads in HD if this is the case.

I just noticed a channel lineup message on my TiVo S2 hooked thru a DCT700. The message was dated Sunday the 7th. The notice states: Added 721 GOLFVS. I checked http://tvplanner.comcast.net/ and Yahoo TV Listings both show the channel in the listings. I don't see the channel on my DCT3412 DVR IGuide.
One other thing Channel 725 NFLnet shows "To be announce" on the guide. When I go to the channel I see the INHD logo on the screen. I thought that NFLNet HD was a permanent channel. NFLnet is still working on Ch 417.

As usual no info from Comcast.

John

I just noticed a channel lineup message on my TiVo S2 hooked thru a DCT700. The message was dated Sunday the 7th. The notice states: Added 721 GOLFVS. I checked http://tvplanner.comcast.net/ and Yahoo TV Listings both show the channel in the listings. I don't see the channel on my DCT3412 DVR IGuide.
One other thing Channel 725 NFLnet shows "To be announce" on the guide. When I go to the channel I see the INHD logo on the screen. I thought that NFLNet HD was a permanent channel. NFLnet is still working on Ch 417.

As usual no info from Comcast.

John

it looks like we're getting the new GolfHD/VersusHD channel

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=780943

why would u want NFLHD when its the offseason anyway. i hope they devote that bandwidth to something interesting during the offseason.

Not sure if he is talking about a past July 1st deadline that was lobbied away or some future July 1st deadline upcoming, but there was at some point a mandated cutoff date where all cable STBs must use standardized external encryption, which forced the cable companies to create CableCARD and CableLabs.

The thinking was if the cable companies were forced to use the same external encryption that they designed for other CE companies to use, it would naturally become feature rich and reliable enough to spur competition and innovation.

Well the deadline was lobbied away and I'm not sure if there is any new deadline. There might be, I just haven't looked into it.Unless the something happened within the last few days, the deadline is still in place (this July). It had been lobbied away three times, but this one seems to be sticking in spite of ongoing intense efforts by cable.

Unless the something happened within the last few days, the deadline is still in place (this July). It had been lobbied away three times, but this one seems to be sticking in spite of ongoing intense efforts by cable.

Here's a CNET article dated Aug. 06 that says the deadline still holds: http://news.com.com/Cable+companies+lose+round+in+CableCard+battle/2100-1033_3-6107359.html

The one question I have (and maybe Barovelli can answer this) is will the DCT's have unistream or multistream (i.e. CableCARD 2.0) slots? Also, does the 07/07 integration ban mean MSO's have to "offer" these boxes? I can't imagine they'll force everyone to exchange their box but does that mean all new customers (or new boxes handed out) need to have the external security enabled?

Here's a CNET article dated Aug. 06 that says the deadline still holds: http://news.com.com/Cable+companies+lose+round+in+CableCard+battle/2100-1033_3-6107359.html

The one question I have (and maybe Barovelli can answer this) is will the DCT's have unistream or multistream (i.e. CableCARD 2.0) slots? Also, does the 07/07 integration ban mean MSO's have to "offer" these boxes? I can't imagine they'll force everyone to exchange their box but does that mean all new customers (or new boxes handed out) need to have the external security enabled?
What the integration ban means is up for debate, err, I mean lobbying, but as it was originally intended, after the deadline the MVPDs would cease deplying *new* devices that had integrated conditional access. Currently MSOs are trying to get exemptions for some classes of devices.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-76A1.pdf
7. In the First Report and Order, the Commission also adopted a January 1, 2005 deadline
for MVPDs to cease deploying new navigation devices that perform both conditional access functions and
other functions in a single integrated device. The requirement that MVPD-leased equipment have
separable security functions was intended to eliminate impediments discouraging customers from
switching to devices available through retail outlets, thereby promoting competition in the marketplace.
The Commission found that any cost savings that might exist from the offering of integrated devices
likely would be offset by manufacturing gains from an open, competitive market. We concluded that
achievement of the express mandate of Section 629—to assure that consumers have the ability to obtain
navigation devices from manufacturers, retailers, and other vendors not affiliated with MVPDs—required
prohibition of MVPDs providing security and non-security functionality in a single device.

I just noticed a channel lineup message on my TiVo S2 hooked thru a DCT700. The message was dated Sunday the 7th. The notice states: Added 721 GOLFVS. I checked http://tvplanner.comcast.net/ and Yahoo TV Listings both show the channel in the listings. I don't see the channel on my DCT3412 DVR IGuide.
One other thing Channel 725 NFLnet shows "To be announce" on the guide. When I go to the channel I see the INHD logo on the screen. I thought that NFLNet HD was a permanent channel. NFLnet is still working on Ch 417.

As usual no info from Comcast.

John

Channel 721 is up in Fremont. The guide is there, but It is not authorized. I have digital classic package.

Some updated info on what Comcast is going to be offering in the near future.....

____________________________________________________________ ___________

On January 18th we will launch VS/Golf HD (called Comcast Sports HD by some Forum members) on Channel 721 in the Bay Area, except in Los Gatos, Milpitas, Saratoga, Hayward, Santa Rosa, Sunnyvale, Half Moon Bay. The portions of Pittsburg, Antioch and Bay Point that have been upgraded will receive the new channel on that date. The channel features programming from the National Hockey League, PGA coverage, boxing and other sports contests

Hayward HD customers might have noticed we launched Fox Sports Net HD on Channel 720 yesterday. (We also added GOL TV, NBA TV and Digital FM service in Hayward)

On January 25th we plan to add Fox Sports Net HD on Channel 720 in Sunnyvale.

____________________________________________________________ ____________

So, more programing for those of you that are in upgraded areas.
I'm waiting to find out when and where the upgrades for the rest of us will begin. I know it's a big job to do in 18 months and I'm glad it's finally going to happen but it's hard to be patient ...:)

Laters,
Mikef5

Fox Sports Net HD in Sunnyvale. Whoo hoo! Between this news, and the fact that the my 550MHz system will eventually get upgraded, things are looking up for us.

Looking at the Sharks schedule, there's a string of 4 games on FSN-HD between Jan 30th and Feb 6th. Hopefully their plan comes to fruition. :D

I guess it's final.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070111-8599.html

I just read through your discussion here about the Moto STB Firewire Recording CCI/Broadcast Flag/5C issues you guys are having in the Bay Area. I am up in Portland and the same thing happened here when we got the 16.20 Firmware update in mid November.

We can record CBS, ABC, FOX and CW but can no longer get NBC or PBS. I have not experienced any selective CCI protection on any CBS, ABC, FOX, CW primetime shows, but that's not to say it doesn't happen.

I thought I would share what's going on up here because I found your discussion very enlightening.

What the hell is the point of having cable STBs with CableCards??

STBs don't need CableCards. Those are for TVs (DVRs, etc) with integrated tuners.

What the hell is the point of having cable STBs with CableCards??

STBs don't need CableCards. Those are for TVs (DVRs, etc) with integrated tuners.

To separate tuner and decryption device, so more companies can provide tuners (TV, TiVo, STBs) without integrated decryption.

To separate tuner and decryption device, so more companies can provide tuners (TV, TiVo, STBs) without integrated decryption.
Which will create a market, which will create competition, which will illuminate what a piece of crap the Moto boxes really are.

Well, I can already buy a tuner (in a TV or DVR) and stick a CableCard in it.

I still don't see the point of forcing cablecos to include CableCards in their own STBs.

I still don't see the point of forcing cablecos to include CableCards in their own STBs.

Currently, cable companies treat people who want to use CableCards as second tier customers. Many employees still don't know how to deal with CableCards. Just look at the number of problems many TiVo S3 owners have to go through to get the CableCards working properly with the S3s. By forcing all devices using the same CableCards, it levels the playing field.

For example, a Comcast DVR with two tuners is considered one outlet. Some cable companies still treat two CableCards in one S3 as two outlets, and maybe adding other nonsense fees as well.

I still don't see the point of forcing cablecos to include CableCards in their own STBs.After getting cable cards in my TiVo, I do.

This morning I lost signal on some channels. The signal strength meter gave zero or intermittant, or unusually low levels these channels. The channels came back later this morning.

I have 3 theories about this. The TiVo (S3) screwed up in some strange manner. Comcast screwed up in some manner, possibly related to moving channels around. The unusually cold weather got to my outside cable amp.

I talked to Comcast support and they denied that there had been any rearranging of channel, despite the note included with the bill giving the new lineup, so I lost some channels, and gained some channels recently.

If this was a cold problem, I'm expecting it to reoccur tonight. Also if it were a cold problem I'd expect the channels to be carried on the same or adjacent QAM channel, but I don't know which the physical channels they're carried on. (Though I've now remembered where I can find that info.) Does any one have the mapping handy? the channels affected were:

No signal:
TNTHD 726
ESPN2HD 724
NBA 416
SCIFI 160
TWC 61
calchan 30
edac 27
gov ac 26
pub ac 15
tvg 11

Intermittant/low signal:
Radio channels 960+
KFTYDT 199
SOAP 184

I only know a few:

97-1 edac 27
97-7 gov ac 26
97-9 tvg 11
95-1 KFTYDT 199

You can get the actual frequencies (in MHz) on the diagnostics screen.

I had a cold temperature problem at the beginning of December. Someone from the network department had to fix it, not the regular technicians.

I looked in the diagnostics to see what the channel frequencies were all in the channel 95-99 range. Those are acually low frequencies in the FM range, just above channel 6. When I looked at the low analog channels they were all snowy as well.

Currently, cable companies treat people who want to use CableCards as second tier customers. Many employees still don't know how to deal with CableCards. Just look at the number of problems many TiVo S3 owners have to go through to get the CableCards working properly with the S3s. By forcing all devices using the same CableCards, it levels the playing field.

For example, a Comcast DVR with two tuners is considered one outlet. Some cable companies still treat two CableCards in one S3 as two outlets, and maybe adding other nonsense fees as well.
I still don't see how it will help anyone. It's not like you can pull the CableCard out of their box and use it in your own. It still requires a truck roll and a tech to authorize the card(s) in each seperate device, doesn't it?

Now if you're talking about forcing them to use CableCards(tm) instead of Smart Cards (tm) then I can see how that would be good (especially if you own CableLabs stock... haha) but ours out here don't use either, and they never did. The newer boxes don't even have those slots.
Again, CABLE BOXES DON'T NEED CABLECARDS(tm)...

You seem to be ignoring the tales of woe written about Comcast trying to get Cable cards working. They don't care, they want it to be a painful experience. If they have to use cable cards in their own equipment, they'll have to get it right, not to mention having much more practice.

Cable boxes having cable cards is the best thing to happen to third party equipment.

If they have to use cable cards in their own equipment, they'll have to get it right, not to mention having much more practice.

Cable boxes having cable cards is the best thing to happen to third party equipment.

Put a CC in every leased set top box and they will work and provision in the same consistent way, just like today's integrated set tops.

The wide inconsistency of consumer devices, that all seem to provision CCards differently are the tech's headache. Is it some conspiracy? :rolleyes:

Who's really at fault, the cable cards that are all the same or the devices that are all different? Cable Cards have been available for years. Why hasn't there been a flood of 3rd party set top boxes, DVRs or affordable TVs using it?

Get the manufactures' to standardize the CC interface. Then, why don't they put CC in ALL sets, not just high end ones?

DCAS is the real solution. Imagine a self install, with no hardware to deliver and be charged for.

CableCards in leased boxes? Who thought that up?

Put a CC in every leased set top box and they will work and provision in the same consistent way, just like today's integrated set tops.

The wide inconsistency of consumer devices, that all seem to provision CCards differently are the tech's headache. Is it some conspiracy? :rolleyes:

Who's really at fault, the cable cards that are all the same or the devices that are all different? Cable Cards have been available for years. Why hasn't there been a flood of 3rd party set top boxes, DVRs or affordable TVs using it?

Get the manufactures' to standardize the CC interface. Then, why don't they put CC in ALL sets, not just high end ones?

DCAS is the real solution. Imagine a self install, with no hardware to deliver and be charged for.

CableCards in leased boxes? Who thought that up?Won't they have to use CableCard 2 (two way communication) so that the box will do OnDemand and PPV? Otherwise it would seem that the box would need some built-in security for those features and this would violate the FCC rules.

Who's really at fault, the cable cards that are all the same or the devices that are all different? Cable Cards have been available for years. Why hasn't there been a flood of 3rd party set top boxes, DVRs or affordable TVs using it?
...
CableCards in leased boxes? Who thought that up?
Dunno who's at fault, but I recall people requesting the tech coming out with 2 or 3 different types of CableCARDs and trying all of them because some combinations work and others don't. I recall people requesting newer versions of CableCARDs that had certain problems resolved. Based on that I don't think all CableCARDs are the same.

On the provisioning side, I remember Comcast contracting out to UEI to collect CableCARD info they either forgot or had no idea they were supposed to collect.

I'm sure in some cases the CE devices are to blame as well.

There was a period about 2yrs ago when lots of TVs were including CableCARD. Due to problems with provisioning, various limitations of CableCARD, customer service encouraging STB use, lack of consumer education, etc. CableCARD is virtually dead for TVs. IMO if it weren't for TiVo S3, CableCARD would be virtually dead.

Separate portable encryption for leased boxes, FCC came up with that. CableCARD, the specific implementation of that idea, cable companies came up with that via their proxy company CableLabs.

Obviously leased boxes work fine without CableCARD. Will forcing STBs to use CableCARD create a level playing field and/or accelerate newer downloadable encryption? IMO most likely yes.

IMO if the original deadlines had been enforced, you would see 2-way and multi-stream CableCARDs or equivalent downloadable CA much faster than what we are seeing. That would mean you could see those features used in CE 3rd-party devices much quicker also.

If the cable company lease STBs uses the same Conditional Access as 3rd party consumer electronics, then there is hope that consumer electronics products will be able to do all the functions STBs are able to do.

sfhub,
Thanks for the Oppo digital 970HD device upgrade over at hifi-remote.com ;-)

Also, during the NFL playoffs did anyone notice that Fox's broadcast had more POP than the CBS broadcast? Was it just my imagination or does Fox "do something" the broadcast?

Also during my quarterly call to Comcast to get a "better deal" without adding more packages, I got my cable bill knocked down to 29.99 per month for 3 months (I have basic cable + expanded + digital) + extra outlet + DVR + HD box) from the $53 something standard charge. The discount is on on the basic + expanded part.

Best,
jeff

doh, i wish i could archive my DVR now. i have the first 4 hours of 24 in pristine HD, and i know one day i'll have to delete it :( i've had my DVR for a year and a half and this was the first time i wanted to keep something on there forever

For example, a Comcast DVR with two tuners is considered one outlet. Some cable companies still treat two CableCards in one S3 as two outlets, and maybe adding other nonsense fees as well.I don't know if this is a "nonsense fee", but my latest Comcast cable bill includes one of those "complete list of products", and on it is something like "CableCARD (second card for a TiVo S3) - $1.50".

-- Don

the channels affected were:

No signal:
TNTHD 726
ESPN2HD 724


Just for the record I have constant problems with these 2 channels as well - even before it got cold.

I don't know if this is a "nonsense fee", but my latest Comcast cable bill includes one of those "complete list of products", and on it is something like "CableCARD (second card for a TiVo S3) - $1.50".

-- Don

I have no problem paying that $1.50. I think the S.F. Bay Area is better than many other areas, where people are charged $10 or more per card.

I have no problem paying that $1.50. I think the S.F. Bay Area is better than many other areas, where people are charged $10 or more per card.
I agree, so far, Comcast in the bay area has been extremely easy to deal with on CCs and very conservative on their pricing, in my experience anyways.

....but my latest Comcast cable bill includes one of those "complete list of products"
-- Don
Hold onto that list--you won't find anything that complete online.

Here's my HD experience - just for fun. and a couple questions.
So I got HD a couple weeks ago. I have Comcast. I exchanged my cable box for a 3416. Channels 2-99 we're missing for about a week but I recorded a ton of stuff from all the free pay channels I was getting so I didn't complain. They all went away too a couple days ago. So I called (and cringed as I did), but the lady on the phone had all the channels I'm supposed to have back in about 15 mins.
HD and PVR have been really sweet, no issues. The PVR responds well, and the pic is awesome on my Samsung 42 plasma.

I don't get TNTHD, or UHD, am I supposed to.
Seems like its really slim HD pickins on Comcast.

I see Dish has 27 HD channels, any one have any experience with that. I hate to switch, but they have more.
Whats the local channel HD experience like with Dish (or Directv?)

Thanks
Steve

Here's my HD experience - just for fun. and a couple questions.
So I got HD a couple weeks ago. I have Comcast. I exchanged my cable box for a 3416. Channels 2-99 we're missing for about a week but I recorded a ton of stuff from all the free pay channels I was getting so I didn't complain. They all went away too a couple days ago. So I called (and cringed as I did), but the lady on the phone had all the channels I'm supposed to have back in about 15 mins.
HD and PVR have been really sweet, no issues. The PVR responds well, and the pic is awesome on my Samsung 42 plasma.

I don't get TNTHD, or UHD, am I supposed to.
Seems like its really slim HD pickins on Comcast.

I see Dish has 27 HD channels, any one have any experience with that. I hate to switch, but they have more.
Whats the local channel HD experience like with Dish (or Directv?)

Thanks
Steve

Dish doesn't not have Fox Sport Bay Area games in HD, nor does it have KRON-HD. It does have the Voom channels where 2 or 3 of the channels are pretty good but they keep repeating the same programs. As far as quality goes, it's not as good as OTA but I would say it's comparable with Comcast from what I've seen.

mattioli,
There's a thread for bay area DBS questions here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=615354&goto=newpost).
I have Dish, DirecTV and Comcast because I want all the HD I can get and no one provider has it all. Comcast has the best picture quality.

mattioli,
There's a thread for bay area DBS questions here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=615354&goto=newpost).
I have Dish, DirecTV and Comcast because I want all the HD I can get and no one provider has it all. Comcast has the best picture quality.
So there is someone else almost as crazy as me. :D

Add Star Choice and we'll be on par with each other. :p

...if only I could get line of sight for the Sky birds and get the UK HD....

How many hours per week do you guys spend watching TV? Just the local HD channels are more than sufficient for me. :)

To be sure, way too much, and I'll be the first to admit having all those providers is definitely overkill.

I got Dish way back because they have TNT-HD and the Voom channels are nice, plus, there is no SHO-HD up here so I get both HBO-HD and SHO-HD from Dish. I've had DirecTV forever and use it for ST although this is the last year I'm doing it, March Madness is pretty cool, rarely miss a HD game.

Star Choice was sort of an experiment, east and west HD network feeds plus The Movie Channel which has shown a few US SD cable shows in HD.

With DirecTV coming in with all those national HD channels this year they may end up as my only sat provider. Comcast coming in with a 1GHz system is encouraging, but I'll bet DirecTV beats them by a good 8-12 mos on getting more HD. I don't know what DirecTV's MPEG4 PQ looks like either so who knows if I'll actually go with them. If they get SciFi-HD, FX-HD and USA-HD soon though that will be tough to ignore.

Just for the record I have constant problems with these 2 channels as well - even before it got cold.Maybe you could get Comcast out to check the signal they're putting out. The tech came this morning and measured the signal "at the street" as -8db on the affected channels. By contrast the good channels were +10 db. At that rate the signal was probably marginal when it wasn't cold, and just went over the edge with the weather. The tech's going to get whoever's responsible to fix it, it may be a headend thing, or a local outside amp thing. The good thing is, they can fix it (I hope they can fix it) without me needing to be in.

As I mentioned, these channels are unsual for being on lower frequency carriers. So if your having trouble with just these 2 it may be an amp problem.

With DirecTV coming in with all those national HD channels this year they may end up as my only sat provider. Comcast coming in with a 1GHz system is encouraging, but I'll bet DirecTV beats them by a good 8-12 mos on getting more HD. I don't know what DirecTV's MPEG4 PQ looks like either so who knows if I'll actually go with them. If they get SciFi-HD, FX-HD and USA-HD soon though that will be tough to ignore.OTOH, each time Comcast removes a channel from analog and moves it to a digital tier, that frees up bandwidth for another HD channel. They seem to be dropping a lot of PPV lately, as well. More bandwidth. If they add NGHD, plus the announced CNN-HD and SFHD, I'll be pretty happy. A&EHD will be nice obce they add more HD programming.

I can do without FoodHD or HGHD. Nice. But, not necessary. Same goes for the Vs/GolfHD channel being added later this week. HD filler, like the Dish Voom channels.

I have Dish, DirecTV and Comcast because I want all the HD I can get and no one provider has it all. Comcast has the best picture quality.

When do you have time to watch so much TV? I'm retired and find more good programming than I can possibly watch just on Dish Network. A large portion of what I record on my DVR gets wiped out by new stuff before I get to watch it.

Larry
SF

ok im new here...read as much as i can in a hour due to at work and need answers to a couple of questions.

1. i just got a Sony TV with w/ a digital tuner and plug in my cable is got a couple of digital channel along with 3 HD channel. Is there a channel list of all the channel i receive thru comcast?

I know i get
kgo in HD CH 7.?
PBS CH 9.?
NBC is in the 100's

I also get Travel, couple shopping networks, couple news channel, lots of music and animal channel in 480i.

2. Do i still need to buy an Over the AIR Antanna for more HD Channels?


3. Is there any way to decrypt the other stations to receive more HD channel?


also i live in the oakland area.

I'm passing on the following post by Richard Swank to the "HDTV-in-SFbay" Yahoo Group since it has a lot of interesting information in it.

Larry
SF

- - -

Since Comcast has a major head end located right in the Sutro Building.
KGO-DT/KTVU-DT/KPIX-DT just hand the same signal they feed their
transmitters over to them via no cost hard wire. KNTV-DT is picked up OTA
for Comcast since we are not located on Sutro. KNTV feeds Comcast with
fiber optics for our analog signal.

Both Dish and DirecTV use OTA for the local DTV signals but for the analog
signals everyone uses fiber optic feeds as the primary source with OTA as a
backup. As DTV becomes more of a financial center for broadcasters I'd
imagine the DTV signals to fed to these services via fiber as primary feed
as well. NBC made an agreement with DirecTV and KNTV-DT actually feeds
DirecTV via fiber already. It is the responsibility of the broadcasters to
get the signal to these carriers by the way. Dish and DirecTV are common
carrier and obligated by the FCC to carry these signals but not required to
go out and seek them if not OTA.

- - -

ok im new here...read as much as i can in a hour due to at work and need answers to a couple of questions.

1. i just got a Sony TV with w/ a digital tuner and plug in my cable is got a couple of digital channel along with 3 HD channel. Is there a channel list of all the channel i receive thru comcast?

I know i get
kgo in HD CH 7.?
PBS CH 9.?
NBC is in the 100's

I also get Travel, couple shopping networks, couple news channel, lots of music and animal channel in 480i.

2. Do i still need to buy an Over the AIR Antanna for more HD Channels?


3. Is there any way to decrypt the other stations to receive more HD channel?


also i live in the oakland area.

1. no such list from comcast, you'll have to ask other members that live close to you for the "in the clear" list
2. you can also get a digital package from comcast or get a dish with HD. but you would only be able to get OTA channels in the clear from comcast without extra programming.
3. if there were, i wouldn't be paying 80 bucks to comcast.

thanks for the fast reply.

ok i went here to check on the HD over the air channel in my area. Here is what came up.

yellow - uhf KBWB 20 IND SAN FRANCISCO CA
yellow - uhf KBWB-DT 20.1 IND SAN FRANCISCO CA
yellow - uhf KKPX-DT 65.1 i SAN JOSE CA 228° 13.6 41
yellow - uhf KBCW 44 CW SAN FRANCISCO CA 248° 13.1 44
yellow - uhf KBCW-DT 44.1 CW SAN FRANCISCO CA 248° 13.1
yellow - uhf KCNS 38 SAH SAN FRANCISCO CA 248° 13.1 38
yellow - uhf KCNS-DT 38.1 SAH SAN FRANCISCO CA 248° 13.1
yellow - uhf KCSM-DT 43.1 PBS SAN MATEO CA 248° 13.1 43
yellow - vhf KGO 7 ABC SAN FRANCISCO CA 248° 13.1 7
yellow - uhf KGO-DT 7.1 ABC SAN FRANCISCO CA 248° 13.1
yellow - uhf KTSF 26 IND SAN FRANCISCO CA 227° 13.6 26
yellow - uhf KTSF-DT 26.1 IND SAN FRANCISCO CA 228° 13.6
yellow - vhf KNTV 11 NBC SAN JOSE CA 227° 13.7 11
yellow - vhf KNTV-DT 11.1 NBC SAN JOSE CA 227° 13.7 12
yellow - vhf KPIX 5 CBS SAN FRANCISCO CA 248° 13.1 5
yellow - uhf KPIX-DT 5.1 CBS SAN FRANCISCO CA 248° 13.2 29
yellow - uhf KMTP 32 IND SAN FRANCISCO CA 248° 13.1 32
yellow - uhf KMTP-DT 33.1 IND SAN FRANCISCO CA 248° 13.1
yellow - vhf KRON 4 MNT SAN FRANCISCO CA 248° 13.1 4
yellow - uhf KRON-DT 4.1 MNT SAN FRANCISCO CA 248° 13.1
yellow - uhf KFSF 66 TFA VALLEJO CA 248° 13.1 66
yellow - uhf KFSF-DT 66.1 TFA VALLEJO CA 248° 13.1 34
yellow - vhf KQED 9 PBS SAN FRANCISCO CA 248° 13.1 9
yellow - uhf KQED-DT 9.1 PBS SAN FRANCISCO CA 248° 13.1
yellow - vhf KTVU 2 FOX OAKLAND CA 248° 13.1 2
yellow - uhf KTVU-DT 2.1 FOX OAKLAND CA 248° 13.1 56
yellow - uhf KSTS 48 TEL SAN JOSE CA 121° 26.8 48
yellow - uhf KSTS-DT 48.1 TEL SAN JOSE CA 121° 26.8 49
yellow - uhf KTEH-DT 54.1 PBS SAN JOSE CA 121° 27.6
yellow - uhf KDTV 14 UNI SAN FRANCISCO CA 121° 26.8
yellow - uhf KDTV-DT 14.1 UNI SAN FRANCISCO CA 121°
yellow - uhf KKPX 65 i SAN JOSE CA 141° 50.3 65
yellow - uhf KICU 36 IND SAN JOSE CA 122° 27.6 36
yellow - uhf KICU-DT 36.1 IND SAN JOSE CA 122° 27.6 52

So all i need to do is hook up a Indoor VHF/UHF Antenna and i should be able to recieve those channels listed in the picture.

I don't want to pay any for any new service but just want to get as many HD channel as i can. Is this the way to go?

QAM and OTA Antenna?

thanks for the fast reply.

ok i went here to check on the HD over the air channel in my area. Here is what came up.

So all i need to do is hook up a Indoor VHF/UHF Antenna and i should be able to recieve those channels listed in the picture.

I don't want to pay any for any new service but just want to get as many HD channel as i can. Is this the way to go?

QAM and OTA Antenna?

Try the indoor antenna, i guarentee you won't get everything you listed there just because, the signal strength won't be strong inside your home. i set up an indoor antenna too, just because comcast doesn't have CWHD and let me tell you that's about all I can receive, and i'm pointing it 1 inch away from the window. your mileage will vary. check the SF OTA thread too.

what is a great outdoor antenna to buy?

Try an indoor antenna first. Since you're in Oakland, I think you would have a good chance of getting the stations from SF and Oakland.

versusHD is up on 721. took a quick look at the guide today. nothing in HD. yay comcast, way to push your own product first without the appropriate content.

yeah, i looked quickly this morning and while in 16:9, the quality was clearly SD, at best.


versusHD is up on 721. took a quick look at the guide today. nothing in HD. yay comcast, way to push your own product first without the appropriate content.

I'm getting the Golf channel on 721, is this going to be shared between versus/golf? This is probably near the bottom of my list of channels I'd like to see in HD.

It maybe in SD, but it looks a lot better than the real SD crud on 82.

I'm getting the Golf channel on 721, is this going to be shared between versus/golf? This is probably near the bottom of my list of channels I'd like to see in HD.

It maybe in SD, but it looks a lot better than the real SD crud on 82.

i refuse to call it Versus/golfHD until i actually see some golfHD programming, as far i as know, only NHL (versus) is gonna be in HD for now.

edit: foot in mouth! apparently golfHD will kick start on feb 1 and will broadcast pga events in HD.

versusHD is up on 721. took a quick look at the guide today. nothing in HD. yay comcast, way to push your own product first without the appropriate content.
So, this has been available for what ... one day and people are already blasting Comcast for this ?? At least you are getting new channels, come on over to a 550 Mhz area and then I could feel you're pain. ESPN-HD still broadcasts some of it's content in a 4X3 format and not HD and they're suppose to be an all HD channel, lets blast ESPN for that. All I'm saying is, give them a chance to get the programing setup and at least enjoy the fact that you got another channel to watch. I don't know why they don't share the bandwidth with FSNBA-HD and Versus-HD in our area. For the most part FSNBA-HD is dead air most of the day, why not make use of that bandwidth ?? Even though I know when my area will be upgraded, I still wish I could get some new channels to justify my cable bill :rolleyes:

Laters,
Mikef5

Versus/Golf-HD is owned by Comcast, easy to understand why that channel has been added as soon as possible over all the other HD channels available.

Versus/Golf-HD is owned by Comcast, easy to understand why that channel has been added as soon as possible over all the other HD channels available.

exactly. i was blasting them for putting this HD channel ahead of so many others, solely because they want versus to be the next ESPN. poor decision, imo until they start feeding more HD content.

So, this has been available for what ... one day and people are already blasting Comcast for this ?? At least you are getting new channels, come on over to a 550 Mhz area and then I could feel you're pain. ESPN-HD still broadcasts some of it's content in a 4X3 format and not HD and they're suppose to be an all HD channel, lets blast ESPN for that. All I'm saying is, give them a chance to get the programing setup and at least enjoy the fact that you got another channel to watch. I don't know why they don't share the bandwidth with FSNBA-HD and Versus-HD in our area. For the most part FSNBA-HD is dead air most of the day, why not make use of that bandwidth ?? Even though I know when my area will be upgraded, I still wish I could get some new channels to justify my cable bill :rolleyes:

Laters,
Mikef5

MikeF5
Do you actually have a schedule of when the SaraMilGatos/etc... upgrades will be done? All I can get out of Comcast is 'the next 18 months', which is a long time....
Thanks
MikeA (Los Gatos)

exactly. i was blasting them for putting this HD channel ahead of so many others, solely because they want versus to be the next ESPN. poor decision, imo until they start feeding more HD content.
So Nikey, put yourself in Comcast's shoes. You own a cable company, you have a channel that you own and want it to compete with ESPN for viewership and you are planing on adding more HD content to that channel. But you also have other company's channels that could give you profit but not like you would get with your own channel and content. Which one would you do first ??
Comcast is a business, and is in it to make a profit with as little cost to them as possible, "bottom line" is the thing that dives businesses. It makes sense for Comcast to do this so I don't fault them for it but they do need to get more HD content and sooner rather than later or they will be doing catch up for a long time. The Sat company's are not going to sit on their hands and let cable eat into their profits.
So, yes, I would like more HD , just like you do, and the sooner the better but you have to look at it like a business and see the reasons why they do what they do. I'm not bashing you, I'm just letting you know why Comcast might do what it does even though we might not agree with it.... ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

MikeF5
Do you actually have a schedule of when the SaraMilGatos/etc... upgrades will be done? All I can get out of Comcast is 'the next 18 months', which is a long time....
Thanks
MikeA (Los Gatos)
There are tentative schedules and nothing is written in stone and I wouldn't be able to say anything about it until it is officially released so yes I have an idea but like I said nothing in stone.

Laters,
Mikef5

exactly. i was blasting them for putting this HD channel ahead of so many others, solely because they want versus to be the next ESPN. poor decision, imo until they start feeding more HD content.
As Mikef5 notes, you can't blame them, it's all about the Benjamin's. :D

i refuse to call it Versus/golfHD until i actually see some golfHD programming, as far i as know, only NHL (versus) is gonna be in HD for now.

edit: foot in mouth! apparently golfHD will kick start on feb 1 and will broadcast pga events in HD.
But how many pga events are going to actually be in HD? Last year it was only the 4 majors (and the British Open was SD widescreen, so it wasn't really HD). Are there plans to do more this year?

Not that it helps me, being in one of the Comcast 550MHz slums...

But how many pga events are going to actually be in HD? Last year it was only the 4 majors (and the British Open was SD widescreen, so it wasn't really HD). Are there plans to do more this year?

Not that it helps me, being in one of the Comcast 550MHz slums...
John,
Where do you live ?? The SaraMilgatos area is going to be upgraded this year. Funding was approved and it's in progress now in some areas. There's 8 areas that will be upgraded and Comcast has said they'll have it done in 18 months which is ambitious to say the least. There's a whole lot of things that goes into upgrading these systems, more than I really realized but if they can do it in that time frame for all the areas I'll be impressed. So there's hope, not like last year when I was ready to desert cable and go to the Sat's. It just might take a while.. ;)
Oh, and SaraMilgatos will be upgraded to 1 GHz so it might be worth the wait :)

Laters,
Mikef5

But how many pga events are going to actually be in HD? Last year it was only the 4 majors (and the British Open was SD widescreen, so it wasn't really HD). Are there plans to do more this year?

Not that it helps me, being in one of the Comcast 550MHz slums...
There's a Golf-HD channel thread that might have some more info on the channel.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=780943
Golf Channel HD / Versus HD - Now on Comcast! - AVS Forum

John,
Where do you live ?? The SaraMilgatos area is going to be upgraded this year. Funding was approved and it's in progress now in some areas. There's 8 areas that will be upgraded and Comcast has said they'll have it done in 18 months which is ambitious to say the least. There's a whole lot of things that goes into upgrading these systems, more than I really realized but if they can do it in that time frame for all the areas I'll be impressed. So there's hope, not like last year when I was ready to desert cable and go to the Sat's. It just might take a while.. ;)
Oh, and SaraMilgatos will be upgraded to 1 GHz so it might be worth the wait :)

Laters,
Mikef5
I'm in LG, and I read about the upgrade in the Merc a week or so ago. I thought you said you couldn't talk about the timing, but are you now sayinig our area will upgraded before Dec of this year? If so, that'll be great for next year (I always tack on extra time to these announced schedules), and I'll be very excited when it becomes a reality. Until it actually happens, though, I can't get too excited.

I'm in LG, and I read about the upgrade in the Merc a week or so ago. I thought you said you couldn't talk about the timing, but are you now sayinig our area will upgraded before Dec of this year? If so, that'll be great for next year (I always tack on extra time to these announced schedules), and I'll be very excited when it becomes a reality. Until it actually happens, though, I can't get too excited.
The official time frame is 18 months from January for all 8 areas. As with all time frames it maybe sooner or later than that. Like I said there really is a lot of things that go into upgrading these systems, especially all the paper work and building permits that have to be done before you can even start the job. Also things could go wrong and be longer or things could go right and be done sooner. At least now it is going to happen and there is finally light at the end of the tunnel. It's just how long is that tunnel going to be :) I think it's worth the wait given that we'll be upgraded to the 1 GHz system.

Laters,
Mikef5

I take a look at cable vs satellite every few months, and so far cable has come out ahead, even being in the slums here. But when the scales tip in favore of satellite, I'll switch in an istance. I don't want to bet on some service that may get here at some indeterminate time in the future. Thanks for the info, though, Mike.

I take a look at cable vs satellite every few months, and so far cable has come out ahead, even being in the slums here. But when the scales tip in favore of satellite, I'll switch in an istance. I don't want to bet on some future that may get here at some indeterminate time in the future. Thanks for the info, though, Mike.
I'm in the same boat as you are. Here's a good indicator for the SaraMilgatos area. If I leave cable and go to Dish then I've determined all hope is gone for the 550 MHz areas :eek: . Seriously, I've been trying to get Comcast to upgrade our area for 2 years now and finally it's going to happen. Not that I had anything to do with it but I think Comcast is finally realizing that they need to get their systems up to snuff and do it soon or lose their customer base to the Sat companys or worse to AT&T. My advise to you would be hold on for now but if you can get a better deal else where then go for it. I think cable has the best chance at succeeding in the long run and that's who I would put my betting money on ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

I'm in the same boat as you are. Here's a good indicator for the SaraMilgatos area. If I leave cable and go to Dish then I've determined all hope is gone for the 550 MHz areas :eek: . Seriously, I've been trying to get Comcast to upgrade our area for 2 years now and finally it's going to happen. Not that I had anything to do with it but I think Comcast is finally realizing that they need to get their systems up to snuff and do it soon or lose their customer base to the Sat companys or worse to AT&T. My advise to you would be hold on for now but if you can get a better deal else where then go for it. I think cable has the best chance at succeeding in the long run and that's who I would put my betting money on ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

Interesting view...almost sounds like you are playing the stock market ;) ...I think the main reason comcast is upgrading is because people have left them in these markets (550Mhz) because they've got an inferior product...if everybody continued to pay them money as is, they'd happily do nothing (and make an even bigger profit)

Comcast couldnt do anything within 2 years to keep me, and Dish was willing to give me a discount of $20/mth if I came over + more HD + better DVR The 'switch' was pretty painless...2 hours at home from work on a nice day while the guy installed stuff. The discounts are for 10 months...after that I'll see what Comcast has done...I'll come back if the value proposition is back in Comcasts favor...and I bet that at that time Comcast will offer me a nice big discount to come back to them...but if I'd stayed I wouldnt be getting a discount..hmmmm.

Anyway, my 2 cents....and I hope comcast does the upgrade in Saratoga fast...only ~7 months of discounts from Dish left :)

ps....I do appreciate the effort that you've put into this, and also respect Mr. J for pushing it through...they are squeaky wheels at corporate but they do turn every so slowly when pushed hard enough

Interesting view...almost sounds like you are playing the stock market ;) ...I think the main reason comcast is upgrading is because people have left them in these markets (550Mhz) because they've got an inferior product...if everybody continued to pay them money as is, they'd happily do nothing (and make an even bigger profit)

Comcast couldnt do anything within 2 years to keep me, and Dish was willing to give me a discount of $20/mth if I came over + more HD + better DVR The 'switch' was pretty painless...2 hours at home from work on a nice day while the guy installed stuff. The discounts are for 10 months...after that I'll see what Comcast has done...I'll come back if the value proposition is back in Comcasts favor...and I bet that at that time Comcast will offer me a nice big discount to come back to them...but if I'd stayed I wouldnt be getting a discount..hmmmm.

Anyway, my 2 cents....and I hope comcast does the upgrade in Saratoga fast...only ~7 months of discounts from Dish left :)

ps....I do appreciate the effort that you've put into this, and also respect Mr. J for pushing it through...they are squeaky wheels at corporate but they do turn every so slowly when pushed hard enough
Davisdog,
Cant' blame you for going with Dish, they have a real good selection of HD and their 622 dvr and it's interface are really nice. One of my brothers has Dish and I've played with it alot and if Comcast wasn't going to be doing this upgrade I'd join you but they are and to 1 GHz no less.

I really think Comcast is more worried about AT&T and Version than they are of the Sats and since they have entered the playing field Comcast is having to get up to snuff in all the areas so as not to lose customers to them. I don't think AT&T is going to be a problem for Comcast any time soon, they are having alot of problems with the systems that they've started up. I'm not a fan of AT&T and here's one reason why. Who had this cable system before Comcast ??? Yes, AT&T and they dumped us because they saw no profit in cable so they sold it to Comcast who has done quite alot to upgrade the mess that AT&T left. Also, if I'm not mistaken Microsoft is writing their software for their system.... :eek: Not a warm and cozy feeling there for me :)

Version on the other hand is spending big bucks and doing fiber to the home. That to me could be a cable killer if done right. But from what I've been reading Version is playing hard ball with alot of the cities that they have dealings with and are not making many of them happy campers and it seems they are doing what everyone thought cable would do, cherry picking the areas that they upgrade, not good.

Mr. Johnson, Dave and Sue are the reasons I've stayed this long. Those are the people I have dealt with and they truly do care about our area and doing things right. Anyway, enjoy the Dish HD, I know I've become so jaded that I find it hard to watch anything else :p

Laters,
Mikef5

Dish was willing to give me a discount of $20/mth if I came over + more HD + better DVR The 'switch' was pretty painless...2 hours at home from work on a nice day while the guy installed stuff. The discounts are for 10 months...after that I'll see what Comcast has done...I'll come back if the value proposition is back in Comcasts favor...and I bet that at that time Comcast will offer me a nice big discount to come back to them...but if I'd stayed I wouldnt be getting a discount..hmmmm.
Tell me about the DVR you got. I assume it's HD, right? What is the capacity and how much did you pay for it? Did you buy it or lease it from Dish?

Tell me about the DVR you got. I assume it's HD, right? What is the capacity and how much did you pay for it? Did you buy it or lease it from Dish?
John,
If you are really thinking of going to Dish, wait until February. On 1 Feb. they are supposedly going to offer the 622 HD Dvr for no upfront cost, right now it's $200 upfront and you get rebated at 10 or 20 dollars a month on your bill.

Some good forums for info are...

http://www.dbstalk.com
http://www.satelliteguys.us

They have alot of information and links to reviews and manuals for Dish. I haven't been there for a while because I've decided to stay with cable but they are the best source for information on Dish.

Laters,
Mikef5

at least now I can access the golf channel while scrolling through the HD section. I cant wait for pga events in HD as well.
exactly. i was blasting them for putting this HD channel ahead of so many others, solely because they want versus to be the next ESPN. poor decision, imo until they start feeding more HD content.

John,
If you are really thinking of going to Dish, wait until February. On 1 Feb. they are supposedly going to offer the 622 HD Dvr for no upfront cost, right now it's $200 upfront and you get rebated at 10 or 20 dollars a month on your bill.

Some good forums for info are...

http://www.dbstalk.com
http://www.satelliteguys.us

They have alot of information and links to reviews and manuals for Dish. I haven't been there for a while because I've decided to stay with cable but they are the best source for information on Dish.

Laters,
Mikef5
Thanks. With all the channels we don't get in LG, it really pisses me off to tune into 720 and see that goddam FSN logo 95% of the time. That's Comcastic! :mad:

it's on here in Santa Clara on 721, but when i went to my parents house in Fremont, there is no 721 on their channel guide. i thought they were upgraded to at least 800 mhz, but maybe i'm wrong...

Golf is on 721 here in Pothole-uma
Only flipped it on briefly - was a 4:3 SD picture.... ?

Golf is on 721 here in Pothole-uma
Only flipped it on briefly - was a 4:3 SD picture.... ?

go back to the previous 2 pages. we've (actually just me and a few others) complained already about putting an HD channel that had such limited HD programming at this time.

nothing new: just comcast pushing their own products ahead of other good HD channels out there. let me remind you guys that A&E and NGC was on a national rollout before versusHD and yet we get versusHD first.

This might be off topic, but I see that comcast KGOHD ch 707 last night had Wheel of Fortune in HD. Jeopardy & Wheel of Fortune were advertised to be broadcast this year in HD but from what I've read KGO did not have the proper equipment in place to make this happen or something along those lines. Looks like they got the right gear up and running now. I wonder how long before their local newscast will go HD and join KTVU as the only local hi-def newcasts.

I'm not a fan of AT&T and here's one reason why. Who had this cable system before Comcast ??? Yes, AT&T and they dumped us because they saw no profit in cable so they sold it to Comcast who has done quite alot to upgrade the mess that AT&T left.

to be "fair" to the current AT&T, they are really Southwestern Bell Company (SBC), who bought the AT&T that once ran the current Comcast cable system and assumed the AT&T name (some might say a big part of the value of that deal was to get the AT&T name, though as your comment shows that's a double-edged sword). to me, they are more competent than the old AT&T, and play serious hard-ball with competitors, regulators and customers. from an HDTV perspective, the current AT&T roll-out seems weak, one signal per household for now, even if they offer a couple more channels than Comcast.

to be "fair" to the current AT&T, they are really Southwestern Bell Company (SBC), who bought the AT&T that once ran the current Comcast cable system and assumed the AT&T name (some might say a big part of the value of that deal was to get the AT&T name, though as your comment shows that's a double-edged sword). to me, they are more competent than the old AT&T, and play serious hard-ball with competitors, regulators and customers. from an HDTV perspective, the current AT&T roll-out seems weak, one signal per household for now, even if they offer a couple more channels than Comcast.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YtFtcp4mNzA

Enjoy
Mike

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YtFtcp4mNzA

Enjoy
Mike

:D

to be "fair" to the current AT&T, they are really Southwestern Bell Company (SBC), who bought the AT&T that once ran the current Comcast cable system and assumed the AT&T name .

Even before that, PacBell was fighting a battle with TCI (!!), running a superior HFC system in San Jose. When SBC absorbed PacBell, SBC shut that system down, not wanting to deal with TV.

AT&T Broadband - that was the darkest period of cable in my life . . . shudders..

I swapped my 6412 phase II box for a 3416 at the local Comcast office today.

All of the non-HD channels look really bad (fuzzy, blotchy) on the digital output (HDMI) connected directly to my 50" Fujitsu plasma display's DVI input via an HDMI to DVI adapter. The component video output looks fine. The HD channels look fine on either HDMI or component. This was not the case with the 6412--SD channels looked fine on the digital output.

Has anyone else had problems with the new 3416 boxes with digital output on SD channels? I did a lot of playing around with the menu options on the box (the ones seen when you press 'Menu' while the box is off), but perhaps I didn't hit the magic combination yet.

I'd appreciate any feedback on this issue.

Even before that, PacBell was fighting a battle with TCI (!!), running a superior HFC system in San Jose. When SBC absorbed PacBell, SBC shut that system down, not wanting to deal with TV.

AT&T Broadband - that was the darkest period of cable in my life . . . shudders..
One of my brothers worked for TCI at that time and when AT&T took over he saw the writing on the wall and left for green pastures. I did beta testing for Pacbell when they first brought out DSL in our area. I still have AT&T Dsl just that it's farmed out to Sonic Net, who in my opinion, have a far better support staff. As soon as the upgrades are done in my area, I'll drop DSL and go cable to consolidate my bills to one statement. So Pacbell, SBC or AT&T if it quacks like a duck...... ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

I have skimmed through this thread, but it's a little long and I just have a simple question:

Does Comcast in Santa Clara have and HDTV channels in the clear (unencrypted QAM) for those who only subscribe to the basic analog plan?

I am looking at adding a TV in the guest room, and I am trying to figure out if there is any upside to having a QAM tuner if all I subscribe to is basic analog? I'm not planning on upgrading my cable service any time in the near future, so if there isn't anything unencrypted, I'll forgo the QAM tuner and stick to what I can pull out of the air.

Thanks!

The local HD channels should be in the clear. Definitely get a TV with QAM tuner. That was an easy decision for me between Sony and Samsung.

This might be off topic, but I see that comcast KGOHD ch 707 last night had Wheel of Fortune in HD. Jeopardy & Wheel of Fortune were advertised to be broadcast this year in HD but from what I've read KGO did not have the proper equipment in place to make this happen or something along those lines. Looks like they got the right gear up and running now. I wonder how long before their local newscast will go HD and join KTVU as the only local hi-def newcasts.

I don't think this is off topic, I think it is outstanding news. Thanks for the info. Now we can see exactly how old Pat, Vanna and Alex really are! :eek: :D

Does Comcast in Santa Clara have and HDTV channels in the clear (unencrypted QAM) for those who only subscribe to the basic analog plan?

I am looking at adding a TV in the guest room, and I am trying to figure out if there is any upside to having a QAM tuner if all I subscribe to is basic analog? I'm not planning on upgrading my cable service any time in the near future, so if there isn't anything unencrypted, I'll forgo the QAM tuner and stick to what I can pull out of the air.Yes...I think. I only have basic analog, but I do rent the HD box for $5/month (unless they raised the price). I also have 2 more TVs with a QAM tuner in my other rooms and I watch all the unencrypted channels.

When I first got my TV i plug in my cable and scan for channels. I got about 40 digital channel which was great. So i came here and it was called QAM. For some reason i don't get those channels no more. I use to get 480i for animal planet and other channels. Now it says no signal. Did the channel change? Do i have to rescan for those channels? Did comcast take my digital channels away?

The local HD channels should be in the clear. Definitely get a TV with QAM tuner. That was an easy decision for me between Sony and Samsung.

Yes...I think. I only have basic analog, but I do rent the HD box for $5/month (unless they raised the price). I also have 2 more TVs with a QAM tuner in my other rooms and I watch all the unencrypted channels.

Thanks for the quick replies. That definitely simplifies my TV-buying decision.

Yes...I think. I only have basic analog, but I do rent the HD box for $5/month (unless they raised the price). I also have 2 more TVs with a QAM tuner in my other rooms and I watch all the unencrypted channels.
I'm thinking about adding another line to my bedroom which now has an LG TV with a QAM tuner. Currently I have two splitters to provide signal to my main TV/Comcast HD box and my Internet connection. Another splitter to split the Internet line so that I have a signal to my LG LST4200A tuner connected to my PC monitor.

Question: Are the odds good that I will get reception to the above while adding another splitter to add the line to my bedroom? Reason I ask is because it will be a big job adding another RG6 line to the bedroom and don't want to go to the trouble if it causes too much loss in the signal to all so that I would have problems.

Is there a practical limit to the number of splitters allowed?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts....

Grandude,
Give it a try, it should be ok. You can always add an amplifier like the ones here (http://www.cabletvamps.com/drop%20amps.htm).

Grandude,
Give it a try, it should be ok. You can always add an amplifier like the ones here (http://www.cabletvamps.com/drop%20amps.htm).

If you have to add an amp, it's probably best to add it near where the cable enters the building or at least before you start splitting it. This way you boost your signal everywhere.

The amps linked above are really good ones and are even recommended by the cable company.

Best,
jeff

Grandude, this is the one you want. When Comcast supplies it, this is the amp they use.

http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-484095-001-00-Signal-Booster/dp/B000066E6Y/sr=8-1/qid=1169500842/ref=pd_bbs_1/105-4461569-5416425?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

CHecking with COMCAST I can now get all the new HD Channels that are blocked on my AT&T grandfathered package for less than I pay now?

Seems odd, but I am going to switch. Anybody know a reason not to? Same channels across the board, $2 less a month, and I will now get 721, 727, 728.

Grandude, this is the one you want. When Comcast supplies it, this is the amp they use.

http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-484095-001-00-Signal-Booster/dp/B000066E6Y/sr=8-1/qid=1169500842/ref=pd_bbs_1/105-4461569-5416425?ie=UTF8&s=electronics
Either one will work fine, I have both and have used both, they both operate fine.

Do not add an amplifier unless you really need it. If the signal at the entry point is already on the high side, adding an amp may actually cause problem. Most QAM tuners give you some sort of signal quality indicator. That's not really the signal level, but it's still useful to see if you need an amp or not.

I have skimmed through this thread, but it's a little long and I just have a simple question:

Does Comcast in Santa Clara have and HDTV channels in the clear (unencrypted QAM) for those who only subscribe to the basic analog plan?

I am looking at adding a TV in the guest room, and I am trying to figure out if there is any upside to having a QAM tuner if all I subscribe to is basic analog? I'm not planning on upgrading my cable service any time in the near future, so if there isn't anything unencrypted, I'll forgo the QAM tuner and stick to what I can pull out of the air.

Thanks!

Yes, I also have Comcast in Santa Clara and you can get FOX, CBS, ABC, KQED, NBC, KRON, and ESPN (last time I checked) w/just the basic analog. At my place FOX and CBS are on RF channel 79, ABC and PBS on 117, NBC on 116, and KRON on 111. Good luck!

Yes, I also have Comcast in Santa Clara and you can get FOX, CBS, ABC, KQED, NBC, KRON, and ESPN (last time I checked) w/just the basic analog. At my place FOX and CBS are on RF channel 79, ABC and PBS on 117, NBC on 116, and KRON on 111. Good luck!

ESPNHD was in the clear in Sep-Nov in San Jose here, but it's now gone, it probably happened in the last 1-2 months.

Yes, I also have Comcast in Santa Clara and you can get FOX, CBS, ABC, KQED, NBC, KRON, and ESPN (last time I checked) w/just the basic analog. At my place FOX and CBS are on RF channel 79, ABC and PBS on 117, NBC on 116, and KRON on 111. Good luck!

Awesome, thanks! It's too bad the local CW affiliate isn't on the list, nor is KTSF. I guess I will still have to get an A-B switch to hook up to an antenna so my mom can watch Gilmore Girls in hi-def when she's visiting, as well as the Asian programming on KTSF.

know this is off topic, but there are dish subscribers who track this thread. i'm in saramilgatos and to get hd content, recently signed up with dish. at the start of the bears/saints game yesterday (not watching ota but dish signal) all the high angle camera shots were in sd or worse. they really looked like crap. everyone at our house was complaining. the close up camera shots were all hd. this lasted until around the end of the 1st quarter, when suddenly, the high angle camera shots were in hd. i found two other dish subscribers in bay area who saw the same thing. what's weird, only other person who has reported seeing this is a cable subscriber in cleveland oh. most everyone did not see this. i started thread on hd programming forum to discuss this. what could have caused this and why was it so localized?

Grandude, this is the one you want. When Comcast supplies it, this is the amp they use.

http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-484095-001-00-Signal-Booster/dp/B000066E6Y/sr=8-1/qid=1169500842/ref=pd_bbs_1/105-4461569-5416425?ie=UTF8&s=electronics
I thought they used to use electrolines? Did they change?

I thought they used to use electrolines? Did they change?

Flavor of the month. Electroline, Motorola, SignalVision, etc. No strict rule other than what works and does not cost a lot.

hey jeopardy is in HD finally. yay KGO.

I noticed that SkyCam on CBS for Colts/Patiots game looked very SD. I noticed more in the first half.. Not sure if it went away later or not. I din't notice SD for morning game.

Raghu.

at the start of the bears/saints game yesterday (not watching ota but dish signal) all the high angle camera shots were in sd or worse. they really looked like crap. everyone at our house was complaining. the close up camera shots were all hd. this lasted until around the end of the 1st quarter, when suddenly, the high angle camera shots were in hd. i found two other dish subscribers in bay area who saw the same thing. what's weird, only other person who has reported seeing this is a cable subscriber in cleveland oh. most everyone did not see this.

Looks like no more MLBEI baseball games on INHD, DirecTV will have an exclusive, just like Sunday Ticket for football.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9524988#post9524988
D* Going for MLB Extra Innings Exclusivity - AVS Forum

hey jeopardy is in HD finally. yay KGO.
That's great, but why is there sometimes still 'ghosting' when changing scenes on KGO?

Looks like no more MLBEI baseball games on INHD, DirecTV will have an exclusive, just like Sunday Ticket for football.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9524988#post9524988
D* Going for MLB Extra Innings Exclusivity - AVS Forum

Are you sure this includes the games on INHD? Or is it just the Extra Innings package? The big difference between the NFL and MLB is that MLB games are, for the most part, shown on local stations...not national broadcast stations (with the exception of some ESPN games an FOX games on Saturday). This is what allows Superstations to broadcast nationally from their home territory. All of this on top of the Extra Innings package. While I could see D* getting an exclusive on the Extra Innings package (as stupid as that is), I don't see them taking games off the Superstations, and possibly INHD. I think the term "exclusivity" is used differently between MLB and NFL (at least I hope so).

Please be so kind continue this thread in the following new thread....

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=793017

(Just needed to help the server with all the posts on one thread.)

Reminder, you will need to re-subscribed to the new thread to continue to receive update if you would like.)

Thank you.