It must be nice to know what is happing with Comcast on your systems. I have no clue what is up or what is happing with my system Comcast has no idea. The only thing I know is they Suck!!

The 44 channels is digital preferred being phased out and moving to digital classic, read carefully. No new HD channels :(

They used to raise the rates on January 1st; now they can't even wait a year.

My rate increase sheet says Digital Classic customers will receive 44 more channels also. Doesn't say what they are, and it certainly doesn't say that any of them are HD, so you can bet they won't be. Sorry.
What Comcast did over the last few years was to close the gap in price between Digital Classic and Preferred. The prices (including a box) were $10/15 for at least five years, then '07- $12/$15, '08- $15/$16, now just $17. I had a feeling after the first Classic increase in '07, that they were going to phase it out, with the '08 increase it was obvious. Despite calling the service Digital Classic, and saying they are adding 44 channels to it, make no mistake, it is really Digital Preferred. They really phased out Classic, and forced those customers to Preferred; but it sounds better to say they added all of those channels. :rolleyes:;)

As for the increases, here, they have gone from Jan. (many years), to April (many years), to March, to Jan., to Nov. I don't know if they will continue going only 10 mos. between increases, but they can raise the rates somewhat less, than they would if they raised them every 12 mos. Although, now that I am looking at the new price card, the increases seem to be as much they have been for several years. So, I guess it is just a way to get the prices higher faster.:mad: Premium movie chs. have always been high here, probably the highest. They just raised them $2 to $22. :eek: I have relatives that are dropping their Premium, and I am dropping Digital Classic. The pricing has gotten ridiculous.

Comcast Begins Rollout Of Extreme 50 Mbps High-Speed Internet Service

Plans to Reach More Than 10 Major Markets and Nearly 10 Million Homes and Businesses in the Next Several Months

Two New, Faster Speed Tiers Introduced and Speeds Doubled for Most Existing Customers

Philadelphia, PA - October 22, 2008

Comcast, the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications products and services, today announced it is making the leap from broadband to wideband with the launch of next-generation DOCSIS 3.0. With wideband, Comcast will introduce a brand new echelon of Internet speed tiers, which will redefine the customer experience online and create a platform for Internet innovation in the years ahead.

In the next few weeks, Comcast’s new services will be available to millions of residential homes and businesses in parts of New England, including the Boston Metropolitan region and Southern New Hampshire, as well as areas of Philadelphia and New Jersey. These services also will be available in the Twin Cities where wideband was launched earlier this year. Comcast plans to continue to roll out wideband across its footprint and expects to reach more than 10 major markets and pass nearly 10 million homes and businesses in the next several months.

With wideband, Comcast will offer among the fastest speeds available today, including the Extreme 50 tier at up to 50 Mbps. It also will enable Comcast to double speeds for the majority of existing high-speed Internet customers at no additional cost.

“Wideband is a game-changer for the industry. With wideband running over our next-generation fiber-optic network, we can greatly enhance our customers’ online experience immediately. And these speeds are only a preview of what’s to come—wideband will provide the capability of delivering dramatically faster speeds in excess of 160 Mbps in the future,” said Mitch Bowling, SVP and General Manager, Comcast Online Services. “Today’s announcement reaffirms our commitment to offer more speed to more homes than any other U.S. Internet service provider.”

As part of the wideband deployment, Comcast will launch two new premium speed tiers to its residential and business class customers. Both services are ideal for households or businesses simultaneously using several computers or Internet-connected devices. They also will appeal to those who simply want some of the fastest speeds available in the U.S. today:

New Residential Tiers
• Extreme 50, offering up to 50 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 10 Mbps of upstream speed at $139.95/month.*

• Ultra, offering up to 22 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 5 Mbps of upstream speed at $62.95/month.*

With Extreme 50, Comcast customers, for example, will be able to download a high-def movie (6 GB) in about 16 minutes, a standard-def movie (2 GB) in about 5 minutes and a standard-def TV show (300 MB) in a matter of seconds. Customers with Extreme 50 also will be able to download digital photos, songs and games faster than ever.

In addition to the new speed tiers, Comcast also is increasing speeds for most of its existing customers.

• Performance tier customers will benefit from doubled downstream and upstream speeds, offering up to 12 Mbps and 2 Mbps, respectively.

• Performance Plus customers will be upgraded to Comcast’s Blast! tier, which will double their download speeds to up to 16 Mbps and provide up to 2 Mbps of upload speed.

Plus, with PowerBoost® technology, customers are able to enjoy even faster speeds to download and upload files such as videos, games, music and photos.

New Business Class Tiers
Business customers will benefit from wideband with increased efficiency and productivity. Customers can sign up for the Deluxe 50 Mbps / 10 Mbps tier for $189.95/month, which includes a full suite of features and support. As part of their service, Comcast Business Class customers receive Microsoft Communications Services, providing corporate-class e-mail, calendaring and document sharing, as well as additional benefits such as firewall protection, static IP addresses, multiple e-mail addresses and business class 24/7 customer support. Existing business class customers also will receive complimentary speed increases—speeds on the Starter tier will be doubled to up to 12 Mbps / 2 Mbps and a new Premium Tier also will be introduced, offering speeds up to 22 Mbps / 5 Mbps for only $99.95/month.

To find out when wideband will be available customers can visit www.comcast.com/fastestfast or call 1-800-Comcast.

*Pricing for residential customers and requires subscription to Comcast Cable service.

http://www.comcast.com/About/PressRelease/PressReleaseDetail.ashx?PRID=814

Comcast Begins Rollout Of Extreme 50 Mbps High-Speed Internet Service


They've already flipped the switch for this here in Minneapolsi/St. Paul.

Comcast will be flipping the switch on or around November 1st in my area of Jersey.

man it bugs me that comcast rolls our channels/faster internet/other services market by market. i constantly hear about the same cities getting a ton of hd channels that i want and faster internet that i want while i sit here in the western united stated and get the same junk but my bill continues to increase. the fastest internet offered in my area is 8 mb/s. they've been telling me for 7-8 months now that 16 mb/s is coming within 2 months. guess what? 2 days ago they told me the same thing. it'll come within 2 months. what do you want to bet i'm still sitting at 8 mb/s in january? i wish fiber was available in my area.

Local Comcast switching some channels in lineup

By Michelle Koetters

mkoetters@pantagraph.com

BLOOMINGTON -- In an effort to add high-definition programs, Comcast is moving some channels to digital-only.

The changes mean the minority of Comcast’s Illinois customers who are not digital cable subscribers, including those in McLean County, will need digital equipment or will need to switch to a digital service to view shows on about six stations, said Rich Ruggiero, vice president of communications and public affairs for Comcast Illinois.

The transition frees up capacity for Comcast to add HD channels, the company’s most requested service, Ruggiero said. One analog channel consumes the same amount of capacity as 10 to 12 digital channels or up to three HD channels.

“These changes are all about the world, in general, is going digital,” Ruggiero said. “The future of what we offer in home entertainment is digital.”

In November, changes will occur with C-SPAN2, MTV2 and SOAPnet. Comcast made similar changes with National Geographic, ION and EWTN this summer.

As of Nov. 11, C-SPAN2 will continue to be part of Comcast’s basic service but will require digital equipment. Comcast made the same change with ION and EWTN in August.

Basic cable customers can view ION, EWTN and C-SPAN2, as well as the recently added channel TLN, if they have the digital equipment, which means either a digital set-top box, a television with a cable card or a television that can tune digital channels, Ruggiero said.

Customers can lease a set-top box from Comcast for $1.13 a month.

Also on Nov. 11, MTV2 and SOAPnet will become part of the digital classic service. Comcast now offers those channels with its standard cable package.

National Geographic also used to be part of the standard package and now is part of the digital classic service.

Customers automatically receive one digital set-top box if they subscribe to any digital service, Ruggiero said. Digital classic costs $66.74, and additional set-top boxes are $7.95.

The fee for basic service in McLean County will remain at $14.50 a month, while the price for the standard cable package, which includes basic and expanded basic, remains $51.75 a month.

Comcast does not expect to consolidate other channels this year, Ruggiero said. Instead, the company will focus on adding HD channels. During the second week of December, Versus HD and Golf Channel HD, which now share cable space, will have their own full-time HD networks.

At the beginning of December, Comcast also will eliminate MOJO HD but replace it with Local Origination HD, part of the $53.74 digital starter service.

Flip of a switch

Comcast has moved or plans to move a number of television stations from analog tiers to the digital-only realm. To view these channels, customers will need a digital set-top box or compatible equipment. The chart below details line-up changes in the company’s Bloomington-Normal territory.

Past changes

National Geographic: Offered only with digital classic, instead of with standard cable

ION: Offered in basic service, but only in a digital format

EWTN: Offered in basic service, but only in a digital format

Changes Nov. 11

C-SPAN2: Will be offered in basic service, but only in a digital format

MTV2: Will be offered only with digital classic, instead of with standard cable

SOAPnet: Will be offered only with digital classic, instead of with standard cable

Source: Comcast

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/10/22/money/doc48ffab0bda409004354123.txt

CBS College Sports Announces High Definition Broadcasts Of Navy Games For Comcast Customers

The network's HD telecasts of Navy's three remaining home football games will be simulcast on the MOJO HD channel to Comcast digital customers

Oct. 16, 2008

CBS College Sports Network and Comcast are partnering to provide fans with increased access to CBS College Sports Network's high definition (HD) Navy football broadcasts. The network's HD telecasts of Navy's three remaining home football games will be simulcast on the MOJO HD channel to Comcast digital customers with HD service throughout much of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, West Virginia, Delaware, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Action kicks off this weekend, as Navy hosts *No. 23-ranked Pittsburgh on Saturday, October 18 (3:30 PM, ET). The other games are SMU at Navy on Saturday, October 25 (3:30 PM, ET) and Temple at Navy on Saturday, November 1 (3:30 PM, ET).

http://navysports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/101608aaa.html

Erm...we don't have MOJO HD in New Jersey.

Erm...we don't have MOJO HD in New Jersey.

We still do down here.

Anyway, goodby Comcast, goodby. I switched to FIOS yesterday.

Anyone switch from Comcast to Dish or DirecTV, then switch back to Comcast because you were not happy?

Just looking for feedback. I'm tempted to switch away from Comcast, but I'm concerned about being locked-in to a satellite contract (in case I don't like it).

Anyway, goodby Comcast, goodby. I switched to FIOS yesterday.

How do you like it? I hope I am not to fare behind you because I would love to have fios.:D

Anyone switch from Comcast to Dish or DirecTV, then switch back to Comcast because you were not happy?

Just looking for feedback. I'm tempted to switch away from Comcast, but I'm concerned about being locked-in to a satellite contract (in case I don't like it).

Yes every on in my family has done that and they keep telling me to drop Comcast.
I will drop them as soon as fios is turn on in my town. Fios has run the line in my town this summer.
If Fios did not run there lines in my town this summer I would have switch to DirectTV by now.

How do you like it? I hope I am not to fare behind you because I would love to have fios.:D

Love it so far. A lot of getting used to. Having an issue with them about not receiving a few channels I'm supposed to be getting in the package I subscribed to but should get that worked out. 87 HD channels currently; 13 more announced for November.

Love it so far. A lot of getting used to. Having an issue with them about not receiving a few channels I'm supposed to be getting in the package I subscribed to but should get that worked out. 87 HD channels currently; 13 more announced for November.

How is the pricing?

Good luck returning the Comcast equipment. It was a 30minute wait in line. I could've mailed them but the boxes would have taken 4 days and they probably would've lost them.

Good luck returning the Comcast equipment. It was a 30minute wait in line. I could've mailed them but the boxes would have taken 4 days and they probably would've lost them.
IIRC, one can also arrange for a pick-up of the boxes; there may be a fee, but I don't think so. Of course, one would have to wait at home for possibly several hours, which may be inconvenient.

I currently have a triple play package with comcast that expires in 2 weeks. What really bothers me is the price of their packages. I'd like to stick with Comcast cable + HD, but browsing their site, it seems like the options are:

1. Basic (analog) cable - $15/mo + an HD box for another $9/mo, making BASIC cable with HD $24/mo.
2. Digital Starter - $65ish + $9 HD = ~$75/mo (I'm guessing on these, since they don't provide their full monthly prices ANYWHERE on their website....which seems criminal to me. This is basically a bait and switch tactic. They ONLY list promo prices for 3 or 6 months. Of course like 5% of people are "qualified" (new customers) for these, so everyone else has to pay the unlisted actual prices.)
3. Digital Preferred - $80ish + $9 HD = ~$90/mo

There's seriously no options between those? It's like...get almost nothing or pay out the nose for like 300 channels, 95% of which you DONT watch.

i'm so disgruntled with Comcast...Their customer service is really customer disservice. :mad:

i'm so disgruntled with Comcast...Their customer service is really customer disservice. :mad:
100% agree. It's why I'm doing research on DirecTV and Dish, right this very minute.

100% agree. It's why I'm doing research on DirecTV and Dish, right this very minute.

Let us know what you find out! I'd like to get DISH, but concerned about outages during storms. Not to mention what happens when the dish gets buried in snow!

Let us know what you find out! I'd like to get DISH, but concerned about outages during storms. Not to mention what happens when the dish gets buried in snow!
Dish is out. I just found out they don't have CBS in HD in my area. Unbelievable.

I also found out that the pricing on DirecTV with an HD DVR is really expensive once you pass the 1 year promo rate.

Now the choice is to stay with Comcast and deal with the lack of HD channels, or pay a LOT more with DirecTV (after 1 yr) for the few extra HD channels we'd actually watch.

Dish is out. I just found out they don't have CBS in HD in my area. Unbelievable.

I also found out that the pricing on DirecTV with an HD DVR is really expensive once you pass the 1 year promo rate.

Now the choice is to stay with Comcast and deal with the lack of HD channels, or pay a LOT more with DirecTV (after 1 yr) for the few extra HD channels we'd actually watch.

Back in June I was able to renew the $129 triple play for another year. Call comcast and find out what they will do. The first time I called and told them I was going to drop digital voice they wouldn't do anything, second time I called I got switched to what I believe was a retention person and was offered the $129 for another year. Give it a try.

-Ken

Anyone switch from Comcast to Dish or DirecTV, then switch back to Comcast because you were not happy?

Just looking for feedback. I'm tempted to switch away from Comcast, but I'm concerned about being locked-in to a satellite contract (in case I don't like it).

I was forced to drop Directv and go to Comcast. Stay with Driect

I have spoken to Rosalind, a Comcast customer service representative & she informed me that Cartoon Network HD & Entertainment (E!) HD will be launched on November 4th.

Anyway, goodby Comcast, goodby. I switched to FIOS yesterday.











Since maxman is no longer going to be the moderator when it comes to updating Comcast HD channel lineup at the start of this thread I want to know who is going to take his place.

IIRC, one can also arrange for a pick-up of the boxes; there may be a fee, but I don't think so. Of course, one would have to wait at home for possibly several hours, which may be inconvenient.

That's what I did. I had them send it just in case I couldn't make it to the Comcast store. I had taken the day off the next day (I ordered the boxes on a Sunday), dropped off the DVR's, and the boxes came that Thursday. Had I sent it via DHL, I'd have the risk of them receiving it but not receiving it. :p FYI, the shipping was free.

Baltimore is getting FX HD, Fox News HD, and Speed HD on 11/20.

Comcast alerts Detroit customers to make changes

By MIKE WENDLAND • Free Press Technology Columnist • October 24, 2008

Some Comcast Cable customers in Detroit who haven't picked up a new digital set-top box had better do so soon or they're going to be unable to watch their favorite programming.

The move affects only about 10% of the Comcast subscribers in the city, and only those who have the Preferred Basic package, says Comcast local spokesman Patrick Paterno. The rest of the 1.4 million subscribers around the state need not worry as the digital switchover has already occurred.

The move has nothing to do with the coming move from digital TV broadcasts in February. Instead, it has to do with Comcast staying competitive and upgrading the network system in the city of Detroit to match that in the rest of the state, which has been digital for some time. Comcast subscribers in Detroit were wired under another company that Comcast took over a few years back.

And although most of the city has now been upgraded, those now getting notices about the need to upgrade are the remaining subscribers who are still on the older analog system.

So, what does it mean?

"Beginning in October through November 2008, Comcast will convert all channels on our Preferred Basic package to a digital format," says Paterno. "This means that customers will need a digital set-top box or compatible digital equipment on each TV to continue watching these channels. We'll be helping our customers through this transition by providing them a free digital set-top box with their Preferred Basic package."

Detroit customers who currently subscribe only to Comcast's limited basic tier of channels (e.g., ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS) will not see any changes in their services. But those who have the Preferred Basic package will need a digital set-top box or other compatible equipment for each TV to continue receiving all cable channels available with that package, says the company.

That package offers most of the popular cable networks showing sports, music, in-depth news, kids’ programming and the sort.

Says Paterno: "Moving more of our channels to a digital format throughout the City of Detroit will allow us to use capacity in our advanced fiber-optic network to offer more HD and On Demand programming, faster Internet speeds and new multicultural programming services which reflect Detroit's highly diverse, ethnic environment."

It's a matter of being able to get more out of the cable pipeline. One analog channel consumes the same amount of capacity in the network as approximately 10-12 digital channels or two-three HD channels.

The move is also competitive. With so many new digital channels and programming programs now available and also offered by rival cable companies, satellite TV programmers and even AT&T, Comcast is trying to expand its choices to lure in more customers.

To make the move easy for those affected Preferred Basic package Detroit customers, Comcast will make digital set-top boxes available at no additional charge. Further, during the migration, it will offer a digital receiver for one additional outlet at no extra charge for the first six months. After that, it will cost $4.20 more a month.

There are two ways customers can get the new boxes:

They can get a Quick Connect self-install kit, which Comcast will ship to their home at no charge.

Or they can visit one of the two Comcast service centers in the city, at 12775 Lyndon Road, or 11411 E. McNichols Road.

Comcast will also send a technician to install the new box, though an installation fee will be charged.

Affected customers in Detroit can turn to Channel 2 to receive updated information during the transition period.

http://www.freep.com/article/20081024/BLOG01/81024016/1003/NEWS01

IIRC, one can also arrange for a pick-up of the boxes; there may be a fee, but I don't think so. Of course, one would have to wait at home for possibly several hours, which may be inconvenient.

That's what I did. I had them send it just in case I couldn't make it to the Comcast store. I had taken the day off the next day (I ordered the boxes on a Sunday), dropped off the DVR's, and the boxes came that Thursday. Had I sent it via DHL, I'd have the risk of them receiving it but not receiving it. :p FYI, the shipping was free.
I was saying one can have a Comcast tech. pick-up the boxes and provide a receipt, whether they are replaced or not.

Since maxman is no longer going to be the moderator when it comes to updating Comcast HD channel lineup at the start of this thread I want to know who is going to take his place.

I was never a moderator. Whoever added the channel lineup to my original post will probably continue to do so.

Thank you to everyone here on this thread, and all the best to you. I've gotten so much help and so many answers here over the past few years - you're the greatest!

I've been with Comcast since the beginning and hate to leave, but I want more HD channels and they're just not giving them to me in my area. I'll check back often to keep updated; who knows what the future holds.

I've been with Comcast since the beginning and hate to leave, but I want more HD channels and they're just not giving them to me in my area.
I hear ya... and don't blame you at all.

Good luck!

i wish i could switch to fios :(

(slowly walking away with charlie brown sad music in background)

Local Comcast switching some channels in lineup

By Michelle Koetters

mkoetters@pantagraph.com

BLOOMINGTON -- In an effort to add high-definition programs, Comcast is moving some channels to digital-only.

The changes mean the minority of Comcast’s Illinois customers who are not digital cable subscribers, including those in McLean County, will need digital equipment or will need to switch to a digital service to view shows on about six stations, said Rich Ruggiero, vice president of communications and public affairs for Comcast Illinois.

The transition frees up capacity for Comcast to add HD channels, the company’s most requested service, Ruggiero said. One analog channel consumes the same amount of capacity as 10 to 12 digital channels or up to three HD channels.

“These changes are all about the world, in general, is going digital,” Ruggiero said. “The future of what we offer in home entertainment is digital.”

In November, changes will occur with C-SPAN2, MTV2 and SOAPnet. Comcast made similar changes with National Geographic, ION and EWTN this summer.

As of Nov. 11, C-SPAN2 will continue to be part of Comcast’s basic service but will require digital equipment. Comcast made the same change with ION and EWTN in August.

Basic cable customers can view ION, EWTN and C-SPAN2, as well as the recently added channel TLN, if they have the digital equipment, which means either a digital set-top box, a television with a cable card or a television that can tune digital channels, Ruggiero said.

Customers can lease a set-top box from Comcast for $1.13 a month.

Also on Nov. 11, MTV2 and SOAPnet will become part of the digital classic service. Comcast now offers those channels with its standard cable package.

National Geographic also used to be part of the standard package and now is part of the digital classic service.

Customers automatically receive one digital set-top box if they subscribe to any digital service, Ruggiero said. Digital classic costs $66.74, and additional set-top boxes are $7.95.

The fee for basic service in McLean County will remain at $14.50 a month, while the price for the standard cable package, which includes basic and expanded basic, remains $51.75 a month.

Comcast does not expect to consolidate other channels this year, Ruggiero said. Instead, the company will focus on adding HD channels. During the second week of December, Versus HD and Golf Channel HD, which now share cable space, will have their own full-time HD networks.

At the beginning of December, Comcast also will eliminate MOJO HD but replace it with Local Origination HD, part of the $53.74 digital starter service.

Flip of a switch

Comcast has moved or plans to move a number of television stations from analog tiers to the digital-only realm. To view these channels, customers will need a digital set-top box or compatible equipment. The chart below details line-up changes in the company’s Bloomington-Normal territory.

Past changes

National Geographic: Offered only with digital classic, instead of with standard cable

ION: Offered in basic service, but only in a digital format

EWTN: Offered in basic service, but only in a digital format

Changes Nov. 11

C-SPAN2: Will be offered in basic service, but only in a digital format

MTV2: Will be offered only with digital classic, instead of with standard cable

SOAPnet: Will be offered only with digital classic, instead of with standard cable

Source: Comcast

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/10/22/money/doc48ffab0bda409004354123.txt


I just hope they continue to do this and move all of the expanded basic channels to digital so we have more room for HD in the Chicago suburbs,
NW Indiana areas.

I was never a moderator. Whoever added the channel lineup to my original post will probably continue to do so.











I will like to continue doing the channel lineup maxman.

I was at a friend's who had io cablevision with a box with a cable card. He could turn on closed captioning, switch to 720p or 1080i, and even zoom or stretch, all without having to turn off the cable box first!

I was never a moderator. Whoever added the channel lineup to my original post will probably continue to do so.
If you notice, at the bottom of the post, it says it has been edited by 'Ken H', who is obviously a moderator.

I will like to continue doing the channel lineup maxman.


Your hired! As long as you can promise me new HD channels for my area. :-)

I am like many of you at a juncture. I currently have comcast, but am considering what my best option is. Verizon FIOS and AT&T UVerse are unavailable in my area for the time being. So that leaves me with really 3 choices I can see: Comcast, Direct TV, and Dish.

My first consideration is channels, second is pricing, and this is all assuming PQ/SQ is nearly equal (or are there MAJOR differences?).

Any advice or feedback would be much appreciated from users who have had one or more of these 3 services.

Is it true Comcast NJ will go all digital in Feb 2009?

Possibly....maybe....who knows? ;)

What irks me most about Comcast is the complete lack of any kind of information concerning their plans for additional HD programming. I am in the Houston, TX area and all we have is around 20 or so mainstream HD channels. This does not include premium channels, pay per view or On Demand of which I do not have any desire to pay for. I have contacted Comcast numerous times to try and get any kind of information concerning future HD programming being added. And the response I get every time is "Comcast has no plans to add any additional HD programming at this time." I only have a small HDTV right now, but I really enjoy the small amount of HD channels I receive now. I would like to be in the market for a large screen HDTV this Christmas, but it's really hard to get motivated to spend all that money when there is really no justification to do so with just 20 or so HD channels. It would be very difficult for me to go to satellite because my view is blocked by many large trees and FIOS is not available in Houston yet. Uverse is available, but a lot of people I have talked to have had trouble with it. Without many options, I may have to just wait out the HD scene and see what happens next year after the digital transition.

i ask comcast every single time i call them if they know of any new hd channels coming to my area. every single time i get the same response- "we are constantly adding new channels." so, according to comcast, 2-3 channels every 6-8 months = "constantly adding channels." what irks me most of all, is the huge difference in the number of hd channels between different markets. some markets have almost all of the hd channels available, while others have only a handful. it bugs me also that i read press releases of contracts that comcast signs with channels and no one in any market gets those channels at all. what was the point in signing the contract?

i ask comcast every single time i call them if they know of any new hd channels coming to my area. every single time i get the same response- "we are constantly adding new channels." so, according to comcast, 2-3 channels every 6-8 months = "constantly adding channels." what irks me most of all, is the huge difference in the number of hd channels between different markets. some markets have almost all of the hd channels available, while others have only a handful. it bugs me also that i read press releases of contracts that comcast signs with channels and no one in any market gets those channels at all. what was the point in signing the contract?

I agree Comcast is terrible when it comes to HD. They are sitting with their hands tied behind their backs while all the other providers are adding new channels. I am staying with them right now because the price is the best. I am on the bundle package which allows us to get Digital Cable+HDTV and high speed internet for 85 bucks a month. I'm not sure if this is a limited time deal or not, but when they raise their prices to $100(like all my other friends have to pay) I will have no objections to switch to U-Verse in a second.

I have contacted Comcast numerous times to try and get any kind of information concerning future HD programming being added. And the response I get every time is "Comcast has no plans to add any additional HD programming at this time."I would take their word for it, that the information you're receiving is all the public information available at this time.

I would take their word for it, that the information you're receiving is all the public information available at this time.

But getting their same scripted answer for over a year and a half now does not sound like many more HD channels are coming anytime soon. I don't know how Comcast expects to compete in the HD world with their bandwidth limitations. They need to start moving analog channels to digital to free up bandwidth. In August, Comcast Houston announced that they were moving three or four analog channels to the digital tier. We all thought that this would free up some space to add several more HD channels. Then they came back in October and said they were going to leave these analog channels where they were. I imagine they got an earful from the people who only have analog cable and they backed off. Very frustrating! They need to just figure out what the heck they are doing. And they need to figure it out before the digital transition occurs or they are going to lose many more customers when people see how good HDTV is, but also see that Comcast cannot meet their demand for a lot of it.

But getting their same scripted answer for over a year and a half now does not sound like many more HD channels are coming anytime soon.It would be a mistake to assume anything from this situation.

Unless legally required, Comcast does not announce new channels, HD or otherwise, until after they are available on the system.

They should just get rid of all analog channels. I hate it when people complain about it. Get a digital box, it hardly costs anything and it's way better. You guys still using analog are living in the stone age and holding the rest of us up.

They should just get rid of all analog channels. I hate it when people complain about it. Get a digital box, it hardly costs anything and it's way better. You guys still using analog are living in the stone age and holding the rest of us up.

Oh. So it is OUR fault....

:rolleyes:

i am from Billerica, MA. I contacted comcast about the new internet speeds. i asked the guy about HD. he said that they had plans to roll out new HD channels in November and December. he couldn't tell me which channels or how many because he said some were still under negotiations.

Get a digital box, it hardly costs anything and it's way better.

I have a digital box for one TV. I have another TV with a QAM tuner. Why should I have to get another box? Since it's so cheap, PM me and we can work out a payment plan. ;)

They should just get rid of all analog channels. I hate it when people complain about it. Get a digital box, it hardly costs anything and it's way better. You guys still using analog are living in the stone age and holding the rest of us up.

most people are cheap thats why. they threaten to go to fios or a dish but they dont even have analog so mostly empty threats. lol ;)

One solution: Unscramble all the channels so we won't need boxes unless you want On-Demand and DVR capability. If you have an analog TV you will need a box otherwise your digital TV should receive all unscrambled channels

On one hand we want more HD channels on the other we want better HD picture quality. Until Comcast gets rid of most analog stations and uses switched video we will see a squeeze on picture quality and on a greater variety of HD channels.

I did read Comcast is slowly upgrading their systems to get to one GHZ and may ultimately be employing fiber to the premise (similar to FIOS). The fiber to the premises probably will take many years because of the high cost.

They should just get rid of all analog channels. I hate it when people complain about it. Get a digital box, it hardly costs anything and it's way better. You guys still using analog are living in the stone age and holding the rest of us up.

I have a kid going to college next year. Every dollar is important. I have two TVs that would need boxes if analog was completely removed. If comcast only charge for the box that would be one thing, but how about this stupid digital access charge ? I don't have the extra $17 per month to pay for this.

-Ken

But getting their same scripted answer for over a year and a half now does not sound like many more HD channels are coming anytime soon.Maybe. By the same token, we got the same answer for a year and then go about nine or ten HD channels in a few months, and now it's been four months without any new channels. :shrug: I think that there simply is no pattern to discern from what they're saying, and that's deliberate, since it would be foolish to make commitments when plans aren't in place or firm enough to commit to.

I don't know how Comcast expects to compete in the HD world with their bandwidth limitations.They plan to make strategic use of SDV and switching channels from analog to digital. Both of which have advantages and disadvantages. They make judicious decisions based on weighing the two.

As it is, here, at least, they've got practically all the really important HD channels... the ones that the majority of customers care about. While there are a few pockets of older or less well-built systems then inherited that lag behind, generally they're offering most of what enough of the customers that matter expect.

They need to start moving analog channels to digital to free up bandwidth.That would piss off a lot of towns and cities. No sense in poking the bear with a stick until you have a lot of customers demanding it, and you can then present their demands to the towns and cities as reason: "Hey, it is YOUR people that want us to do this."

In August, Comcast Houston announced that they were moving three or four analog channels to the digital tier. We all thought that this would free up some space to add several more HD channels. Then they came back in October and said they were going to leave these analog channels where they were. I imagine they got an earful from the people who only have analog cable and they backed off. Very frustrating!And the blame rests firmly with your neighbors.

They need to just figure out what the heck they are doing.With respect: No. They need to play it by ear.

And they need to figure it out before the digital transition occurs or they are going to lose many more customers when people see how good HDTV is, but also see that Comcast cannot meet their demand for a lot of it.Comcast generally provides everything folks can get OTA. The vast majority of customers will react more negatively to having to rent boxes for every television (which is the inevitable result of what you're pushing them towards) than to having 38 instead of 43 HD channels, for example.

One solution: Unscramble all the channels so we won't need boxes unless you want On-Demand and DVR capability. That's a bad solution for many customers who don't want to pay for all those channels. Indeed, many customers want to be able to pay for each channel individually, which means these folks, your neighbors, would be forcing Comcast to scramble everything if they get their way.

They should just get rid of all analog channels. I hate it when people complain about it. Get a digital box, it hardly costs anything and it's way better. You guys still using analog are living in the stone age and holding the rest of us up.
I love how these losers come out of the woodwork to tell us we need to spend more money to make them happy.

Here is the real world, read the comments on this article from the baltimore sun:

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/consuminginterests/blog/2008/10/cable_rates_rising.html

This is getting old, it's time for Comcast to stop being so nice to all these analog lovers. Sure you can always get your basic channels 2-23 on those other tv's but it's time to convert everything else over to digital. Yes this would make some folks mad as witnessed by some of the above comments, but what are you going to do about it? threaten to go to a competing provider? guess what, they are already all digital and you would be required to get a box on all those tv's that you are now complaining about anyway. So this would be easy for Comcast to make this decision to keep up with the times and technology and at the same time bring everyone else along with them whether they like it or not. They don't want to pay more, don't get another box and be content with what you have and let everyone else have the same option with what their needs are and what they are able to afford and determine what is best for themselves on a individual basis while giving the rest of us more options to choose from.

ESPNU would be good, but on which tier? Sports or a mainstream digital lineup?
I think there has been an ongoing dispute between ESPN and Comcast about the placement of this channel and that is why we don't have it at all on Comcast, just like with the Big Ten Network. ESPN wants the channel on the mainstream digital lineup and Comcast wants it on the Sports tier.

According to Comcast's earnings report released today, 31% -- or 5.2 million of its customers are still analog-only (no digital box).

Which is probably why there going digital, market by market.

I think there has been an ongoing dispute between ESPN and Comcast about the placement of this channel and that is why we don't have it at all on Comcast, just like with the Big Ten Network. ESPN wants the channel on the mainstream digital lineup and Comcast wants it on the Sports tier.

I doubt that's the holdup. It's already on DirecTV's Sports Package.

Which is probably why there going digital, market by market.

Yeah, the last time they dropped some analogs here they mentioned that most subs had digital. Baltimore is down to about 65 analog channels. We should have at least 42 HD channels (counting PPV) before the end of November.

I think there has been an ongoing dispute between ESPN and Comcast about the placement of this channel and that is why we don't have it at all on Comcast, just like with the Big Ten Network. ESPN wants the channel on the mainstream digital lineup and Comcast wants it on the Sports tier.

one of the few times i agree with comcast- espnu belongs on the sports tier, not on a mainstream lineup- and i'm a huge sports fan.

This is getting old, it's time for Comcast to stop being so nice to all these analog lovers. Sure you can always get your basic channels 2-23 on those other tv's but it's time to convert everything else over to digital. Yes this would make some folks mad as witnessed by some of the above comments, but what are you going to do about it? threaten to go to a competing provider? guess what, they are already all digital and you would be required to get a box on all those tv's that you are now complaining about anyway. So this would be easy for Comcast to make this decision to keep up with the times and technology and at the same time bring everyone else along with them whether they like it or not. They don't want to pay more, don't get another box and be content with what you have and let everyone else have the same option with what their needs are and what they are able to afford and determine what is best for themselves on a individual basis while giving the rest of us more options to choose from.

Your obviously not a business man. Bicker feel free to chime in at any time....

Your obviously not a business man. Bicker feel free to chime in at any time....

Ken this would be the right move for Comcast to make if they want to hold on to what they already have. Last time I checked they were LOSING customers to all digital providers and as a business person I would want to protect those interest as well as add more subs to stay competitive and by going all digital, they would be satisfying those needs. It's really a no brainer because there really is no loss for doing so and if I was a Comcast shareholder I would hope they would have the bottom line as their top priority as any other business would.

Ken this would be the right move for Comcast to make if they want to hold on to what they already have. Last time I checked they were LOSING customers to all digital providers and as a business person I would want to protect those interest as well as add more subs to stay competitive and by going all digital, they would be satisfying those needs. It's really a no brainer because there really is no loss for doing so and if I was a Comcast shareholder I would hope they would have the bottom line as their top priority as any other business would.

no brainer ? How about all the pissed off analog consumers ? You have to move them SLOWLY to a digital world or they will be lost. That is what comcast is trying to do. And how many of us "fanboys" are there really ?

-Ken

This is getting old, it's time for Comcast to stop being so nice to all these analog lovers. Sure you can always get your basic channels 2-23 on those other tv's but it's time to convert everything else over to digital. Yes this would make some folks mad as witnessed by some of the above comments, but what are you going to do about it? threaten to go to a competing provider? guess what, they are already all digital and you would be required to get a box on all those tv's that you are now complaining about anyway. So this would be easy for Comcast to make this decision to keep up with the times and technology and at the same time bring everyone else along with them whether they like it or not. They don't want to pay more, don't get another box and be content with what you have and let everyone else have the same option with what their needs are and what they are able to afford and determine what is best for themselves on a individual basis while giving the rest of us more options to choose from.

If they want to do it they should just suck it up and do it at no extra cost. Charge the exact same rate as their basic analog cable rate and hand out up to 5 digital boxes per household for free. Maybe they could limit the box to an RF or composite video output only like the $40 ATSC tuner boxes are but equip them with a remote control or make them work over the RF output with the TV remote control.

If they want to do it they should just suck it up and do it at no extra cost. Charge the exact same rate as their basic analog cable rate and hand out up to 5 digital boxes per household for free. Maybe they could limit the box to an RF or composite video output only like the $40 ATSC tuner boxes are but equip them with a remote control or make them work over the RF output with the TV remote control.

Comcast doesn't want to do anything...they wish we would all just shut up. They just want to make money, and they are never going to give all those boxes away. You think they are going to take it out of their profits ?? HAH !!!

no brainer ? How about all the pissed off analog consumers ? You have to move them SLOWLY to a digital world or they will be lost. That is what comcast is trying to do. And how many of us "fanboys" are there really ?

-Ken

Which do you think Comcast would rather lose: Pissed off analog customers who don't use any PPV, HSI or any other "high value" services, or the demanding multi HD-DVR, extra speed HSI and bundled phone customers who pay quite a bit for service?

Comcast is already under fire for the number of overall subscribers they have nationally. If they are going to lose some they would probably prefer it be analog only and the fact is that none of their competitors can offer that service (video without a box) either.

If FiOS does actually come here to Chelmsford, how many people will switch to FiOS for more HD and faster internet while the analog onlys stay with Comcast? Which ones should Comcast fight to keep? As it is today, I would switch to FiOS and Comcast would lose an account that has 3 HD-DVRs some extra digital packages and HSI. However, if they have improved by the time I actually get to make the choice, I would be willing to stay. Should they piss off some others to keep my account and others like me? From a purely business decision, what do you think they should do?

no brainer ? How about all the pissed off analog consumers ? You have to move them SLOWLY to a digital world or they will be lost. That is what comcast is trying to do. And how many of us "fanboys" are there really ?

-Ken

You either piss them off now or you piss them off later. Might as well be now in my book and stop the exodus of people who are tired of waiting. That would make sense to me!

According to Comcast's earnings report released today, 31% -- or 5.2 million of its customers are still analog-only (no digital box).

That's actually pretty impressive, I think it was not more than 2 years ago it was about half of their customers that were analog. I'd say Comcast is pushing the digital solution fairly aggressively.

If they want to do it they should just suck it up and do it at no extra cost. Charge the exact same rate as their basic analog cable rate and hand out up to 5 digital boxes per household for free. Maybe they could limit the box to an RF or composite video output only like the $40 ATSC tuner boxes are but equip them with a remote control or make them work over the RF output with the TV remote control.

Thats a little extreme don't you think. I'm pretty sure they are a business, not a charity.

As it is today, I would switch to FiOS and Comcast would lose an account that has 3 HD-DVRs some extra digital packages and HSI. However, if they have improved by the time I actually get to make the choice, I would be willing to stay.

+1

I would switch my three HD-DVRs, top tier/all channels package, +HSI to Fios in a heartbeat if it were available.

I get that the financials might - in the short term - work out to favor a slow migration due to the substantial number of analog subscribers. But as a consumer I don't care about those folks, and can only vote with my feet. I just wish I had a good option.

The result of Comcast's current direction is a build up of a bunch of disgruntled customers (a calculated risk, no less) who, when given the opportunity will be chomping at the bit to jump to a new provider assuming similarly priced offerings. Heck, I'd pay more out of spite and I'm already over $200 monthly...how many analog only customers does that equal, and how many of "me" are there?

If we're talking about retention that is the real question - what is the revenue/margin balance? They may have already decided that they are willing to immediately sacrifice those analog folks, but are just doing a horrible job planning or implementing the migration. As a result their timeline could have doubled or even tripled (like that would ever happen at Comcast :rolleyes:).

When comcast went to ADS in Chicago they gave us free digital converters.

My point is Comcast is moving slow and steady...try to keep as many people as possible both analog and digital. These conversions cost a lot of money...they need to keep a balance.

What I don't understand is why when we lost the olympic channels there was nothing put in its place and why analog channel 3 and 66 to this day are still showing "this channel has moved" stuff.

comcast is already losing tons of Basic (analog) customers:

"Comcast's basic video subscribers fell by 147,000 to 24.4 million in the third quarter -- a sharper decline than the year-ago period's 56,000 drop -- as the economy hurt business."

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE49S75020081029

-Ken

My point is Comcast is moving slow and steady...try to keep as many people as possible both analog and digital. These conversions cost a lot of money...they need to keep a balance.

What I don't understand is why when we lost the olympic channels there was nothing put in its place and why analog channel 3 and 66 to this day are still showing "this channel has moved" stuff.

comcast is already losing tons of Basic (analog) customers:

"Comcast's basic video subscribers fell by 147,000 to 24.4 million in the third quarter -- a sharper decline than the year-ago period's 56,000 drop -- as the economy hurt business."

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE49S75020081029

-Ken

"basic video" <> analog

Thats a little extreme don't you think. I'm pretty sure they are a business, not a charity.
Digital migration has been rehashed endlessly in this thread (and others). There are some here who will be pissed at having to rent boxes for extra TVs in their house (I have two and I will be), and some that won't because they're all digital and they want every channel on every TV.

Even if you are on a digital package already, as I am, there are plenty of extra analog TVs out there that don't require boxes for a decent set of expanded basic channels today.

My problem here is that no alternate STB market has emerged, so we'll all be forced to rent to keep the channels that we're paying for. Perhaps tru2way will help get around this or maybe Comcast will provide some number of cheap DTAs to customers at cost. Who knows.

I'm in favor of the digital migration, I just don't want to see it done on the backs of the analog customers. And as it stands right now, it either will be, they will leave, or they will make do with less than they had before.

That's actually pretty impressive, I think it was not more than 2 years ago it was about half of their customers that were analog. I'd say Comcast is pushing the digital solution fairly aggressively.
The number of analog subs does not count all the analog TVs stll out there for digital subs. That will go away over time of course, but the number of subs is not a true count of their analog base.

When comcast went to ADS in Chicago they gave us free digital converters.
For a year, right? And then you have to pay for extras?

It's really a no brainer because there really is no loss for doing so On the contrary: It is in Comcast's interest to hold onto its competitive advantage (i.e., no converter boxes needed on each analog television, for basic cable) as long as they can, until the additional revenue from additional services they can sell with the freed-up bandwidth warrants taking analog service away.

As it is now, those 31 million customers, when the consider other suppliers, run up against the converter box they'll need on every television, and generally choose to stick with Comcast instead.

Comcast is obviously doing it right: Even with the downturn in the economy, Comcast's earnings were up this quarter.

The number of analog subs does not count all the analog TVs stll out there for digital subs. That will go away over time of course, but the number of subs is not a true count of their analog base.
True, but comparing apples to apples, previous earnings reports show that the amount of analog-only subs is decreasing.

Comcast is obviously doing it right: Even with the downturn in the economy, Comcast's earnings were up this quarter.

Well, yeah...after raising their rates...yet again. In an economy that's going south, Comcast relentlessly continues to send their rates north. :rolleyes: :D

Comcast IDs First DTA Market

OCTOBER 29, 2008

Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) has identified Portland, Ore., as one of the first markets that will fuel an all-digital migration with one-way digital terminal adapters (DTAs).

"Portland is getting ready to go as we speak with the new DTA boxes, which are now in stock and in test homes," Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said this morning during the MSO's third quarter earnings call.

Comcast is expected to deploy DTAs aggressively as part of an all-digital strategy that will enable the operator to reclaim spectrum from about 40 analog channels, reusing it for Docsis 3.0 and expanded high-definition television (HDTV) and video-on-demand (VOD) services.

Comcast anticipates migrating 20 percent of its footprint to all-digital by year's end, and has said previously that it might need as many as 25 million DTAs to complete the migration over the next 12 months to 18 months. Comcast said it plans to deploy millions of DTAs in the fourth quarter alone. (See Comcast Doctoring Digital in Detroit , Comcast Pursuing $35 Digital Dongle, and Comcast Confirms Digital Dongle Project.)

So far, Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT - message board), Thomson (NYSE: TMS - message board; Euronext Paris: 18453), and Pace Micro Technology have been identified as Comcast's DTA suppliers. Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO - message board) also has a DTA on the roadmap. (See Pace Pix , DTAs on Parade , Thomson Confirms Comcast DTA Order, and Cisco Doubles Up for Cable.)

Even with a self-install option, Comcast anticipates that its DTA markets will require additional truck rolls and elevated levels of marketing. Those costs are "all baked into our plans, but it does have an effect on the profitability of that system when it's going through that conversion," Roberts said.

Comcast COO Steve Burke later downplayed concerns that the DTAs will provide access to the operator's expanded basic digital signals without encryption -- at least for the foreseeable future.

"In many senses, it (digital video fed through DTAs) will be more secure than the analog distribution," Burke said. "We will not be using encryption initially, and that's fine in terms of our programming contracts." Those DTAs, however, could activate so-called "privacy mode" encryption via a firmware upgrade, but doing so could force the operator to seek out a special set-top waiver from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) . (See Comcast's DTAs: Security Optional .)

Weathering the economy
Comcast's third-quarter results showed the operator wasn't yet effected by a turbulent economy, but it did witness slower subscriber growth in some service categories.

Revenues rose 10 percent to $8.5 billion, with net income reaching $771 million (26 cents per share), versus $560 million (18 cents per share) in the year-ago period. (See Comcast Reports Q3.)

On the service front, Comcast lost 147,000 basic subscribers in the quarter, much worse than a 27,000 basic subscriber loss expected by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Inc.

Comcast, however, added 417,000 digital video subscribers, extending that total to 16.8 million and a penetration rate of 69 percent. About 7.3 million of that total also subscribe to the MSO's digital video recording (DVR) and/or hi-def service.

The operator also signed up 382,000 cable modem subscribers, giving it 14.7 million subs. Comcast noted that it was still too early to judge the success of its initial rollout of Docsis 3.0, the baseline for its new 50 Mbit/s and 22 Mbit/s downstream service tiers. (See Comcast Takes 'Wideband' Wider .)

"We have [Docsis 3.0] customers now, but measured in the hundreds," Burke said. "The good news is, technically, it works beautifully… but in terms of customer reaction, it's just too early."

Comcast signed up 483,000 digital voice subscribers, extending the total to 6.1 million, or a penetration rate of 13 percent. Growth in the category slowed (the MSO added 550,000 VOIP subscribers in the previous quarter), and Comcast noted that it's growing weary of churn caused by customers who cut their hardline in favor of getting voice services only from a wireless carrier.

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital News

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=166950

For a year, right? And then you have to pay for extras?

Hmm, not sure. I cancelled a few months later.

This is getting old, it's time for Comcast to stop being so nice to all these analog lovers. Sure you can always get your basic channels 2-23 on those other tv's but it's time to convert everything else over to digital. Yes this would make some folks mad as witnessed by some of the above comments, but what are you going to do about it? threaten to go to a competing provider? guess what, they are already all digital and you would be required to get a box on all those tv's that you are now complaining about anyway. So this would be easy for Comcast to make this decision to keep up with the times and technology and at the same time bring everyone else along with them whether they like it or not. They don't want to pay more, don't get another box and be content with what you have and let everyone else have the same option with what their needs are and what they are able to afford and determine what is best for themselves on a individual basis while giving the rest of us more options to choose from.



Well said!!

On the contrary: It is in Comcast's interest to hold onto its competitive advantage (i.e., no converter boxes needed on each analog television, for basic cable) as long as they can, until the additional revenue from additional services they can sell with the freed-up bandwidth warrants taking analog service away.

As it is now, those 31 million customers, when the consider other suppliers, run up against the converter box they'll need on every television, and generally choose to stick with Comcast instead.

Comcast is obviously doing it right: Even with the downturn in the economy, Comcast's earnings were up this quarter.

bicker there is no proof they have a competitive advantage by staying analog, it could also be reversed. If they went digital it could very well increase their earnings and maybe by a lot more than it is now. And how many of those customers would they lose knowing the competition would put them in the same boat as the one their trying to get out of, my guess would be not many!

Portland!? Why choose such a random market? They should have gone with us...the system with only 26 or so HD channels...ya know, the one they haven't cared about for the past 3+ years...

Somehow I'm thinking it's not analog customers they are losing to Dish and DirecTV. . . . We pay over $200/month to Comcast. How does that compare to your average "you can have my analog when you pry it from my cold dead fingers" customers?

Comcast needs to get with the times or within 2 years when pretty much every channel will be HD they will be screwed over big time and won't be able to recover in time to meet the demand for HD channels. It's starting to happen right now, but soon more and more people who are upgrading to HD will demand it. They better get to work soon or else.

what I'm also irked is how come other areas get more HD channels, I currently get 25 or so HD channels but I know of others that get a lot of HD channels I don't get, these are national HD channels(not regional sports) that some people have while others don't

Have you seen this? Change the resolution without turning the box off. Anyone know the code for closed captioning?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13524611#post13524611

Have you seen this? Change the resolution without turning the box off. Anyone know the code for closed captioning?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13524611#post13524611

Does that work for the DCT3416?

Does that work for the DCT3416?

Yes!

Comcast COO Steve Burke later downplayed concerns that the DTAs will provide access to the operator's expanded basic digital signals without encryption -- at least for the foreseeable future.

"In many senses, it (digital video fed through DTAs) will be more secure than the analog distribution," Burke said. "We will not be using encryption initially, and that's fine in terms of our programming contracts." Those DTAs, however, could activate so-called "privacy mode" encryption via a firmware upgrade, but doing so could force the operator to seek out a special set-top waiver from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) . (See Comcast's DTAs: Security Optional .)
Wow, very interesting. This is the first confirmation I've seen here that expanded basic will be provided in clear QAM for the migrated cities. When it comes to the ATL I hope it will stay that way, I'd love to be able to use my Myth box to record all those channels in digital (almost all of them are encrypted now).
Good job, Comcast. Your rates might suck but you're doing the right thing here with clear QAM and cheap DTAs.

Wow, very interesting. This is the first confirmation I've seen here that expanded basic will be provided in clear QAM for the migrated cities. When it comes to the ATL I hope it will stay that way, I'd love to be able to use my Myth box to record all those channels in digital (almost all of them are encrypted now).
Good job, Comcast. Your rates might suck but you're doing the right thing here with clear QAM and cheap DTAs.

Extended basic channels are already encrypted from the street, so if they pass through the dta won't they still be encrypted ? I have read nothing that says extended basic will be in the clear through a DTA.

I have read that possibly when a town gets DTAs that they will stop encrypting extended basic, but no one can confirm or deny. I guess with Portland we will soon find out.

-Ken

Here in Detroit, Comcast just put the extended basic into digital only and there not encrypted(with a qam tuner). We now only have basically local channels in analog.

I'm guessing that putting digital expanded basic in the clear means that they're going to keep using traps for limited basic customers. Otherwise there'd be nothing to keep you from downgrading once they open up the expanded basic channels.

I don't get the "In many senses, it (digital video fed through DTAs) will be more secure than the analog distribution" quote from the Comcast guy though. How is that true if they put expanded basic in the clear?

Have you seen this? Change the resolution without turning the box off. Anyone know the code for closed captioning?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13524611#post13524611

Nice. Thanks for the link.

I posted this in the DISH thread but I thought I'd post it here as well in case any of you are ex-dish customers that could help steer me in the right direction. Switching to Dish would save me about $30 a month until April and then about $50 after April. Thanks

I'm thinking about switching from Comcast (Chicago) to Dish Network mainly because Comcast's prices keep going up once you are off of their introductory specials. Also, their customer service has been awful in my experiences. The three worries that I have are A) that Dish Network service will go out a lot with the awful wind and snow Chicago receives during the winter, B) the PQ won't be as good as my current service with Comcast and C) that I will have to get my local channels (or maybe just CBS?) using my over the air antenna because I heard rumors that the locals on Dish aren't in HD. Is this correct? If anyone could help me with any/all of these concerns I would appreciate it because saving a few bucks with Dish may be worth it if my concerns aren't valid. Thanks in advance.

...
I don't get the "In many senses, it (digital video fed through DTAs) will be more secure than the analog distribution" quote from the Comcast guy though. How is that true if they put expanded basic in the clear?

It could be because it requires a QAM tuner to receive it and they figure the customers with those will already subscribe to a higher level of digital service.

Is it true Comcast NJ will go all digital in Feb 2009?
No - At minimum, your local broadcast channels will continue to be available in analog.

Now, if you are asking about anything above and beyond Local Broadcast, that's possible.

Does that work for the DCT3416?

Yes!

It doesn't seem to work for the DCT (which has no corresponding button).

Well, yeah...after raising their rates...yet again. In an economy that's going south, Comcast relentlessly continues to send their rates north. :rolleyes: :DAnd the up-tick in their revenues, quarter after quarter, despite people saying exactly what you've just said quarter after quarter, shows that the service has been underpriced. Maybe they've finally caught up? We won't know until this time next year.

bicker there is no proof they have a competitive advantage by staying analog, it could also be reversed.Uh, not quite. Staying analog is a competitive advantage. There is no doubt about that: Anything that any reasonable customer would use to choose one competitor over another is a competitive advantage for the competitor the customer chooses. However, yes, the fact that they're missing a few HD channels as compared to the competitors is a competitive disadvantage, since we know there are reasonable customers who use that fact to choose other suppliers instead of Comcast.

What I think you mean is that we, here, aren't privy to the data that indicates whether or not the analog competitive advantage is worth the competitive disadvantages (such as missing HD channels) that are associated with it.

If they went digital it could very well increase their earnings and maybe by a lot more than it is now.What makes you think they don't have the data that shows which is which? Also, what makes you think that they could just turn on a dime like that? What about the risks of angering franchising authorities and state regulators by moving too fast towards all-digital?

There are barriers to changing that go beyond money.

Uh, not quite. Staying analog is a competitive advantage. There is no doubt about that: Anything that any reasonable customer would use to choose one competitor over another is a competitive advantage for the competitor the customer chooses. However, yes, the fact that they're missing a few HD channels as compared to the competitors is a competitive disadvantage, since we know there are reasonable customers who use that fact to choose other suppliers instead of Comcast.

What I think you mean is that we, here, aren't privy to the data that indicates whether or not the analog competitive advantage is worth the competitive disadvantages (such as missing HD channels) that are associated with it.

What makes you think they don't have the data that shows which is which? Also, what makes you think that they could just turn on a dime like that? What about the risks of angering franchising authorities and state regulators by moving too fast towards all-digital?

There are barriers to changing that go beyond money.

bicker since we don't see the data, it is only speculation. I believe you are only speaking from a personal standpoint as far as analog goes. Regulators only care about basic being provided and that is not going to change with any digital transition. Heres hoping Comcast starts in my area tomorrow, if not very soon or I will be out of here and leave this analog love-fest because Fios has already knocked on my door.

It could be because it requires a QAM tuner to receive it and they figure the customers with those will already subscribe to a higher level of digital service.
That is part of it. Also, there are relatively few Digital QAM TVs out there compared to Analog TVs, anyway.

For a year, right? And then you have to pay for extras?
I think it was one box included in Digital Starter (like we have here) and the second box is free for a year.

I have a kid going to college next year. Every dollar is important. I have two TVs that would need boxes if analog was completely removed. If comcast only charge for the box that would be one thing, but how about this stupid digital access charge ? I don't have the extra $17 per month to pay for this.
Many areas have the first box fee rolled into Digital Starter (Digital Expd. Basic) and above, and into Digital A/Os.

$17 sounds like $8.90 x2 = $17.80 for two Digital Classic A/Os, which some areas have.

If so, you don't have to have Digital Classic on the A/Os, just like you don't have it with Analog. So, the other A/O offered is Digital Starter A/O at $4.95; now they may charge that but I doubt it.

Most probably they will only charge the box fee w/o charging for mirroring, so the fee would be $3.70; this is what they did in at least one market, I recall. The box fee can vary by area, but ~$7.40 is a lot less than you thought.

Here in Detroit, Comcast just put the extended basic into digital only and there not encrypted(with a qam tuner). We now only have basically local channels in analog.


Have they added any new HD channels yet? You will probably get a bunch like Chicago and Boston did.

It doesn't seem to work for the DCT (which has no corresponding button).

Oh, I thought you said DCH3416, which is what I have. You can bind the code to any button. Here's the wiki on programming the remote, although they didn't know that 109 or (00109 for silver remotes) was the code for changing resolution:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Programming_the_Remote#Remap_a_Key

Oh, I thought you said DCH3416, which is what I have. ...

The hooks don't appear to be there for the function to work on the DCT.

It looks like Comcast is trying to push digital in NJ.

The following ad was in my local paper yesterday:

Comcast Cable Customers

Effective on or about December 1, 2008, Comcast will offer the Digital Economy Video package in all service areas in New Jersey, except Jersey City. Digital Economy includes Limited Basic Service, a digital converter and remove control (or CableCARD) and the following channels:

A&E, AMC, Animal Planet, BET, Cartoon, CNN, Comedy Central, C-SPAN2, Discovery, Disney, E!, Food Network, Fox News, Hallmark, History, Lifetime, Spike TV, TV Land, TruTV, USA, WGN (where available) and Music Choice.

The price for this package is $39.95 per month. Price excludes taxes and fees. If you are interested in the Digital Economy package and would like the complete details about service, price and equipment availability, please contact us at 1-800-COMCAST.

Here in Detroit, Comcast just put the extended basic into digital only and there not encrypted(with a qam tuner). We now only have basically local channels in analog.

Can someone list exactly which channels are still available via analog?

So, it was less than two months from the time Comcast announced the digital switch (doctoring) in Detroit until the time most analogs were removed?

Have they added any new HD channels yet? You will probably get a bunch like Chicago and Boston did.

So far no but after cutting so many analog channels I'm hoping its coming soon!

When comcast went to ADS in Chicago they gave us free digital converters.

For one tv... just to be clear.

For one tv... just to be clear.

then each additional is like $2. If you can't afford 4 or 5 bucks extra for the ability to add a ton more channels on top of the already astronomic cable price you can already afford, then I don't know what to tell you.

no offense, I just think worrying about nickel and dimes instead of accepting change is just ridiculous.

Hopefully Comcast pushing digital in NJ is a sign that they want to go digital with B2...

For one tv... just to be clear.

we got 3.

then each additional is like $2.
For that price it sounds like they are providing DTAs, but they aren't are they?
If not, then they are partially subsidizing the Digital boxes with programming service fees.

As expected, VS HD coming to NJ on 12/8 on channel 206...

Style is going digital on 12/4.

then each additional is like $2. If you can't afford 4 or 5 bucks extra for the ability to add a ton more channels on top of the already astronomic cable price you can already afford, then I don't know what to tell you.

no offense, I just think worrying about nickel and dimes instead of accepting change is just ridiculous.

I love that they did it.. for the record. The result has been lots of HD!

Parts of Oregon going digital-only with Expanded Basic:

http://www.dslreports.com/r0/download/1365940~b91d51edbaf4c23e94ab3e1e52d1234b/639.png

Comcast Preps Digital Cutover In Portland Area

MSO Will Provide Digital-to-Analog Adapters to Basic Cable Subs in Salem, Ore.

By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 11/3/2008 4:04:00 PM

Comcast this week is mailing letters to subscribers in Salem, Ore., notifying them that the operator will eliminate most of the analog channels from the basic lineup and instead make them accessible via digital-to-analog converter boxes it plans to distribute.

The project was cited by Comcast chief operating officer Steve Burke on the operator’s Oct. 29 earnings call. He said the Portland market was “getting ready to go as we speak with the new ‘D-to-A’ boxes, which are now in stock and in test homes.”

Comcast spokeswoman Alana Davis confirmed that Salem, Ore., is the initial market where the company will deploy digital-to-analog devices.

The digital-to-analog boxes, which are smaller and less expensive than regular digital cable set-tops, are designed to replicate the basic cable lineup and allow an operator to reclaim that spectrum for other purposes. Even after cutting over a system to “all digital,” Comcast will continue to distribute approximately 20 limited-basic channels in analog depending on the market.

Comcast would not disclose how many D-to-A devices subscribers in Salem, Ore., are eligible to receive. The MSO has ordered such devices from Motorola, Pace and Thomson.

Comcast chief financial officer Michael Angelakis, also on the earnings call, said the operator “will be purchasing millions of D-to-A converters in the fourth quarter as we begin the all-digital transition in up to 20% of our systems.” Multichannel News has reported that Comcast will buy as many as 6 million DTA boxes in 2008.

Across all its divisions, Comcast expects the digital conversion to “spill into ’10,” Burke said last week.

In the initial Portland rollout, most of the D-to-A boxes will be self-installed, according to Burke. While “a very material percentage” of the devices will be self-installed, he said, “whether it’s 50% or 70%, we are going to need to sort of monitor the initial rollouts.”

Added Burke, “It clearly increases headcount and marginally reduces operating cash flow when you take a market to D-to-A. There’s a certain amount of phone calls, there’s a certain amount of truck rolls, there’s a certain amount of marketing and activity level and that’s all baked into our plans, but it does have an effect on the profitability of that system when it is going through that conversion.”

Comcast will not use encryption initially with the D-to-A devices, Burke said.

“The way this will work is you will need to have a D-to-A to receive the expanded basic digital signal, so it will be secured initially by the fact that you need to have a D-to-A. Right now, you don’t… so in many senses, it will be more secure than the analog distribution,” Burke said, adding that the absence of encryption “is fine in terms of our programming contracts.”

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6611062.html

Comcast Preps Digital Cutover In Portland Area


“The way this will work is you will need to have a D-to-A to receive the expanded basic digital signal, so it will be secured initially by the fact that you need to have a D-to-A. Right now, you don’t… so in many senses, it will be more secure than the analog distribution,” Burke said, adding that the absence of encryption “is fine in terms of our programming contracts.”

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6611062.html

Does this mean the digital expanded channels will not be available in clear QAM ?

-Ken

I dunno...some person in/around Philly got notice of some channels moving to digital and it said on the notice you can use a QAM tuner to view those channels.

Does this mean the digital expanded channels will not be available in clear QAM?No -- those words, assuming he meant them as he said them, would indicate the opposite: That they going to rely on the fact that few folks have QAM tuners to secure expanded basic. That fosters a situation which is ripe for cable theft (tuning in channels that you haven't paid for), in the short-term. That will undoubtedly be followed by lots of hand-wringing and vicious condemnations of Comcast when they re-implement security over expanded basic, probably through encryption, but that will require different boxes, right? Because the DTAs won't have CableCARD slots, so they won't be allowed to support encryption, unless they have a way to implement a new, software-based separable security scheme.

Comcast Preps Digital Cutover In Portland Area

MSO Will Provide Digital-to-Analog Adapters to Basic Cable Subs in Salem, Ore.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6611062.html

WTH? Portland or Salem? Or both?? I'm confused.

No -- those words, assuming he meant them as he said them, would indicate the opposite: That they going to rely on the fact that few folks have QAM tuners to secure expanded basic. That fosters a situation which is ripe for cable theft (tuning in channels that you haven't paid for), in the short-term. That will undoubtedly be followed by lots of hand-wringing and vicious condemnations of Comcast when they re-implement security over expanded basic, probably through encryption, but that will require different boxes, right? Because the DTAs won't have CableCARD slots, so they won't be allowed to support encryption, unless they have a way to implement a new, software-based separable security scheme.

Tuning into channels you don't pay for will not be a problem. If you have limited basic, then they will still continue to use traps to filter out a big chunk of channels, somewhere from 25ish to 70ish, give or take a few on each end. If they put the digital signals within that range of frequencies and make them unencrypted, the people who have limited basic won't be able to get them anyway, they are trapped. For those who pay for expanded basic, of course they are not trapped, so ANY TV in your household will be able to receive them via unencrypted QAM. Great news for those using HTPCs.

I'm assuming they will only transmit B2 tier channels in the clear, and not any digital starter or above channels. For those I believe they stimpulate you need a cable box, which of course can decrypt those digital cable channels 100 and up.

The comments about initially not allowing encrpytion are interesting, and I've read in oher threads/articles that they will be seeking a waiver from the "seperable security" mandate for any cable company device. Personally i pray that the FCC does not allow it. If Martin was still the head then you could probably bet they wouldn't, since he seems to do everything in his power agaist cable companies. Or is it a vote where he only has one(or no) votes?

The statement about needing a DTA is obviously not true for the few people that have Digital QAM TVs. Comcast will simply have handle Expd. Basic in Digital the same way as in Analog, at least for the time being.

I highly doubt that they will transmit Expd. Basic HD channels, that some markets have, in clear QAM. If so, for us, we don't really care much, as we want HD. We don't even QAM tuners on all of our TVs. So, the solution will be to get tru2way/CC TVs.

However, I see it benefiting plenty of people. For one, if the box or CC on a TV breaks, then at least Expd. Basic is there, albeit in SD

On 12/1, Comcast in Baltimore wil replace MOJO with Versus HD at 226. Golf HD will go full time at 254.

Apparently the FCC isn't happy with cable companies moving analog channels to digital (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27538936/) or more specifically they aren't happy with the pricing schemes.

Fact sheet for Salem, Oregon transition:

Comcast will launch an additional 30+ HD channels, which will as much as double the number of HD channels available, with more to come.

...Comcast will be able to continue boosting broadband speeds for customers. [DOCSIS 3.0?]

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/assets/pdf/J0121754113.PDF

The statement about needing a DTA is obviously not true for the few people that have Digital QAM TVs. Comcast will simply have handle Expd. Basic in Digital the same way as in Analog, at least for the time being.

I highly doubt that they will transmit Expd. Basic HD channels, that some markets have, in clear QAM. If so, for us, we don't really care much, as we want HD. We don't even QAM tuners on all of our TVs. So, the solution will be to get tru2way/CC TVs.

However, I see it benefiting plenty of people. For one, if the box or CC on a TV breaks, then at least Expd. Basic is there, albeit in SD

I feel like I need a glossary reading some of these posts. It's like I'm reading Neal Stephenson's Anathem.

Kind of funny that the Comcast guy is clearly omitting the fact that any new digital set will be able to get these channels without a box. Must've been a condition of not encrypting the signal from the content providers; i.e., they really don't want you to know about or use the clear QAM capabilities in the sets, especially since they continue to avoid remapping the channels to a consistent lineup with PSIP data.
And their CSRs continue to insist that clear QAM is not supported, you need a box, etc. It has to be a policy on their part to make it as confusing as they can, there's no other way to explain it.

The statement about needing a DTA is obviously not true for the few people that have Digital QAM TVs. Comcast will simply have handle Expd. Basic in Digital the same way as in Analog, at least for the time being.

I highly doubt that they will transmit Expd. Basic HD channels, that some markets have, in clear QAM. If so, for us, we don't really care much, as we want HD. We don't even QAM tuners on all of our TVs. So, the solution will be to get tru2way/CC TVs.

However, I see it benefiting plenty of people. For one, if the box or CC on a TV breaks, then at least Expd. Basic is there, albeit in SD

I feel like I need a glossary reading some of these posts. It's like I'm reading Neal Stephenson's Anathem.
And that was only one of my moderately difficult messages!;):D

DTA= Digital Terminal Adapter

QAM = Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (Digital Cable)
Typically, we talk about 'clear-QAM'; those are the channels that a Digital QAM TV can pick up with its internal tuner.

HD and SD = High and Standard Definitions

tru2way = The new two-way digital cable standard (to be integrated into TVs and boxes)

CC = CableCard (authorization card for digital cable)

Kind of funny that the Comcast guy is clearly omitting the fact that any new digital set will be able to get these channels without a box. Must've been a condition of not encrypting the signal from the content providers; i.e., they really don't want you to know about or use the clear QAM capabilities in the sets, especially since they continue to avoid remapping the channels to a consistent lineup with PSIP data.
And their CSRs continue to insist that clear QAM is not supported, you need a box, etc. It has to be a policy on their part to make it as confusing as they can, there's no other way to explain it.
Typically, from what I read, when one asks about the clear-QAM channels numbers, it goes like this: They first deny that they are in the clear, and say one needs a box. With persistance, they then usually admit that there is clear-QAM, but say that they don't support it, so they don't say the channel numbers. They re-iterate to get a box, in order to get the channels on the numbers listed.

typically, from what i read, when one asks about the clear-qam channels numbers, it goes like this: They first deny that they are in the clear, and say one needs a box. With persistance, they then usually admit that there is clear-qam, but say that they don't support it, so they don't say the channel numbers. They re-iterate to get a box, in order to get the channels on the numbers listed.

+1

While I am enjoying the discussion of Comcast's discontinuing of Analog Expd. Basic, there has been no indication that Expd. Basic HD (in areas that have any) will be in clear-QAM, rather it appears to be just in SD. So, really the the correct thread for this discussion is:

Comcast topic - for alternative discussion (not new HD channels)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15011119#post15011119

I posted a relevant article there. If you look two posts above, ~three mos. ago, I correctly guessed the rental price for DTAs, beyond what they include. I figured they wouldn't try to gauge their entire customer base, just some of them, as usual. ;):D

No -- those words, assuming he meant them as he said them, would indicate the opposite: That they going to rely on the fact that few folks have QAM tuners to secure expanded basic. That fosters a situation which is ripe for cable theft (tuning in channels that you haven't paid for), in the short-term. That will undoubtedly be followed by lots of hand-wringing and vicious condemnations of Comcast when they re-implement security over expanded basic, probably through encryption, but that will require different boxes, right? Because the DTAs won't have CableCARD slots, so they won't be allowed to support encryption, unless they have a way to implement a new, software-based separable security scheme.http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?site=cdn&doc_id=163600

As a major part of their elimination of analog channels, Comcast has chosen to use a low cost DTA that has very little encryption capability. This may mean a QAM tuner would continue to receive Preferred Basic. In the end, the FCC will have to rule on any alternative encryption system for these units, because they do not have standard conditional access capability. After all the recent consternation over CA, why would the FCC throw cable a bone for DTA's? I don't know that's going to happen, but one never knows.

It would take a lot of truck rolls to put filters on all those Preferred Basic customers without a STB. Further, I personally know of a lot of examples of channel filters interfering with Internet service, and having to be removed.

Based on the number of DTA converters Comcast is ordering, estimated at ~18 million, I just can't see that many of their customers who only sub to Limited Basic. They only have ~25 million customers. Let's estimate each sub has an average of 2.75 TV's (approx. national average). That would mean they are ordering roughly 1/4 of all TV's currently in use on their system a DTA. Not sure what Comcast is thinking on this one.

Comcast has added three HD channels on November 4th for the city of Chicago giving it the total of 62. They are the following:

Cartoon Network-channel 226
Lifetime Movie Network-229
Entertainment (E!)-262

Are they the first provider with E!HD?

Are they the first provider with E!HD?

Yes, and they just happen to own the channel. Official launch is 12/8.

Comcast has added three HD channels on November 4th for the city of Chicago giving it the total of 62. They are the following:

Cartoon Network-channel 226
Lifetime Movie Network-229
Entertainment (E!)-262

you guys have 62 HD channels? Why does the rest of America have only 25?

you guys have 62 HD channels? Why does the rest of America have only 25?

Lack of bandwidth.

I have 38 here, soon to be 41.

We have 25, soon to be 26.

By the way, MSG and MSG+ HD aren't working right now, lol.

you guys have 62 HD channels? Why does the rest of America have only 25?

Chicago is "all-digital" -- they are down to around only 20 analogs. Eliminating the analogs frees up a lot of bandwidth for more HD channels.

Detroit and Portland (Salem) OR are transitioning now to "all-digital".

You guys have 62 HD channels? Why does the rest of America have only 25?

Try living right next to the city [Chicago] with the exact same channel line-up except the HD.

for those of you in the fl and nj sdv areas, what firmware and software versions are currently on your stbs?

75.59-a25

75.59

Thanks, we here in Minnesota got that version about 2 weeks ago.

How can I find out?

Thanks, we here in Minnesota got that version about 2 weeks ago.

Same in Baltimore.

It would take a lot of truck rolls to put filters on all those Preferred Basic customers without a STB.

They don't need to filter anything on Pref. Basic lines. If you meant Ltd. Basic, they still don't need to change anything, as they can leave the existing filters in place, because they can put the Digital Expd. channels at the same freqs. where the Analog Expd. channels were.

Based on the number of DTA converters Comcast is ordering, estimated at ~18 million, I just can't see that many of their customers who only sub to Limited Basic. They only have ~25 million customers. Let's estimate each sub has an average of 2.75 TV's (approx. national average). That would mean they are ordering roughly 1/4 of all TV's currently in use on their system a DTA. Not sure what Comcast is thinking on this one.

The DTAs are not for Ltd. Basic customers, yet, as there will still be Analog Ltd. Basic. The DTAs are for Pref./Expd. Basic customers, so they will need many of them. The vast majority take this tier and need several boxes. IIRC, there is already ~0.7 Digital boxes/customer. If correct, so they would need 2.05 DTAs/customer. So, they would eventually need ~51 million, by my count.

Here, for several years, non-Expd. Basic customers, (not necessarily Ltd. Basic only), have needed a box for Ltd. Basic on TVs that otherwise wouldn't need one. The way the channels are interspersed, they have to scramble all of 2-99 for these customers, thus needing a box. So, when the transition arrives here, people with Analog TVs will need a box on all TVs, regardless of tier(s).

I recently spoke with Rose, a Comcast service representative, and she announced that the following HD channels will be added for the city of Chicago:

This TV-channel 246
Starz Kids & Family-channel 257
Starz Comedy-channel 258
Starz Edge-channel 259

I recently spoke with Rose, a Comcast service representative, and she announced that the following HD channels will be added for the city of Chicago:

This TV-channel 246
Starz Kids & Family-channel 257
Starz Comedy-channel 258
Starz Edge-channel 259

I've never heard of This TV. Couldn't google it. Do you know what it is?

Thanks,

Rich N.

I recently spoke with Rose, a Comcast service representative, and she announced that the following HD channels will be added for the city of Chicago:

This TV-channel 246
Starz Kids & Family-channel 257
Starz Comedy-channel 258
Starz Edge-channel 259

When are they going to add more HBO HD channels?

I've never heard of This TV. Couldn't google it. Do you know what it is?

Thanks,

Rich N.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_TV

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_TV


Thanks. It does say the format is 480i and doesn't mention HD.

Rich N.

Denver loses Mojo on 12/1, and gets SciFi and HDNet on 12/8, along with the split of Vs. and Golf HD (as originally reported by dvdmth on the Denver Comcast thread).

http://www.denvergov.org/Default.aspx?alias=www.denvergov.org/Telecom

Looks like the regional sports, previously shown on Mojo (pre-empting content on that channel) will now pre-empt HDNet. I'm sure there will be lots of complaints from the non-sports fans.

We still won't have:
Discovery HD
The Learning Channel HD
Animal Planet HD
USA HD
The History Channel HD
CNN HD
AMC HD
Regional Sports Net(s)
Fox Business Channel HD
NHL Network HD
MGM HD
Fox News Channel HD
Speed HD
FX HD
WGN HD
Weather Channel HD
The Movie Channel HD
Showtime 2 HD
FUSE HD
Bravo HD
CNBC+ HD
Biography HD
IFC HD
WE HD
QVC HD
NBA TV HD
Encore HD
ESPNews HD
Hallmark Movie Channel HD
Big Ten Network HD
Toon Disney HD
Starz Edge HD
Starz Kids & Family HD
Starz Comedy HD
HDNet Movies

OMG!

First sighting of HDNet!!!!!!

Can any of our experts here comment on this little nugget I found in our township's franchise agreement?

4. The Company agrees to keep the system state-of-the-art during the entire franchise term and will take all the reasonable steps necessary to make HDTV signals and/or other such technological advanced services, including interactive services, available to the system when such services become commercially available during the term of this franchise.

There are many HD channels (70 or so) that we don't have, but they are commercially available to our system (they simulcasted USA HD on Mojo during the Olympics). Have they violated that part of the agreement?

OMG!

First sighting of HDNet!!!!!!

And not in Boston!

And with all those other channels still missing.

And without HDNet Movies at first.

And Comcast's new HD channels launch on the same day but HDNet gets added first.

Comcast has yet to turn on SDV in Denver, which is supposed to be among the first two markets getting it. As it stands now we only get 29 HD channels. After the changes in December, that goes up to 31. An analog channel (KRMT, a Daystar affiliate) is moving to digital-only to make room for the new channels.

If they ever get around to implementing SDV, we just might see some real action here.

Hmm I noticed something...we're losing Style, and Versus/Golf are getting split...but they would still have room to add 1 or two more HD channels...I wonder if we might be getting SciFi and HDNet as well.

Looks like the regional sports, previously shown on Mojo (pre-empting content on that channel) will now pre-empt HDNet. I'm sure there will be lots of complaints from the non-sports fans.

Is HDNet really that wonderful that there would be so many more complaints than there were for pre-emption on Mojo? I can see HDNet movies not being uninterrupted as the rule, but (I've heard) a lot of people like HDNet for their sports to begin with.

Hmm I noticed something...we're losing Style, and Versus/Golf are getting split...but they would still have room to add 1 or two more HD channels...I wonder if we might be getting SciFi and HDNet as well.

In North NJ????? They'd rather gargle with razorblades!!

Is HDNet really that wonderful that there would be so many more complaints than there were for pre-emption on Mojo? I can see HDNet movies not being uninterrupted as the rule, but (I've heard) a lot of people like HDNet for their sports to begin with.

Yeah, I was confusing the two. Having never seen either, I'm not sure what to expect. Hopefully there will be some movies on HDNet.

Yeah, I was confusing the two. Having never seen either, I'm not sure what to expect. Hopefully there will be some movies on HDNet.

HDNET IMHO is a better MOJO. Here is the schedule :

http://www.hd.net/schedule_today.html

Ahhh!

10:00 AM ET
7:00 AM PT HDNet Test Patterns
Wonder how your home theatre is doing? Wish you had test patterns to help set it up? Well, HDNet is here to help. This short program will help you get the most out of your home theatre setup by providing you with the same professional test patterns HDNet uses to set their gear.

I've been looking for one all this time!! Augh, Comcast won't get off their a** and add HD channels here.

In North NJ????? They'd rather gargle with razorblades!!

R & F noon to 3

R & F noon to 3

Steve C. says "that's terrible, I'm sorry." Grrrrrr.

The DTAs are for Pref./Expd. Basic customers, so they will need many of them. The vast majority take this tier and need several boxes. IIRC, there is already ~0.7 Digital boxes/customer. If correct, so they would need 2.05 DTAs/customer. So, they would eventually need ~51 million, by my count.Right, and I wasn't really clear about what I was trying to say.

I've confirmed Comcast will not be encrypting the Preferred Basic channels, at least until the FCC allows otherwise. Which means any QAM tuner will get what now is found in analog from channels 1-99, unless filters are in place for each residence that would be targeted for a DTA.

Right, and I wasn't really clear about what I was trying to say.

I've confirmed Comcast will not be encrypting the Preferred Basic channels, at least until the FCC allows otherwise. Which means any QAM tuner will get what now is found in analog from channels 1-99, unless filters are in place for each residence that would be targeted for a DTA.

But what's going to happen to the channels that currently have an SD and HD version (ESPN, TNT, SciFi, etc.)? Will those networks keep two versions of the same channel? If they only have an HD version, what will Comcast do - show that in clear QAM, or downgrade it somehow? I'm curious about what my Samsung LCD with the QAM tuner will be able to get - I don't want a cable box for the bedroom TV.

They'll have the separate versions, don't worry about that.

But what's going to happen to the channels that currently have an SD and HD version (ESPN, TNT, SciFi, etc.)? Will those networks keep two versions of the same channel?Yes. Both HD & SD will still be available, just like they are now.

If they only have an HD version, what will Comcast do - show that in clear QAM, or downgrade it somehow?Neither.

If the channel is on the Preferred Basic tier, like ESPN, then it will be in clear QAM. If the channel is on a Digital tier, like ESPN HD, then it will be encrypted and you'll need some kind of conditional access; cable STB, CableCard, tru2way.

The channels that are only HD, like HDNet, will only be available with a Digital tier.

My neighborhood has a bulk agreement with Comcast for expanded basic and it also includes 3 channels of HBO. No STB was previously required. I received a notification from my HOA the other day that a STB will soon be required and Comcast will be on-site in a couple of weeks for scheduling installation appointments.

I currently have two displays with HD DVR's and the other two displays in my home are analog and simply hooked up via the coax cable in their respective rooms. They will only be giving one free box per household and will charge for any additional STB's that a customer requires so it looks like I'll have to rent an additional STB.

I currently have two displays with HD DVR's and the other two displays in my home are analog and simply hooked up via the coax cable in their respective rooms. They will only be giving one free box per household and will charge for any additional STB's that a customer requires so it looks like I'll have to rent an additional STB.

In Detroit, a free converter is also offered for a second set for six months, after it's $4.20 per month.

In Detroit, a free converter is also offered for a second set for six months, after it's $4.20 per month.

Thanks for the info. I'll query the Comcast reps about this when they're here and post what they have to say. I've been considering replacing one of the analog displays with a new flat panel and am curious if I'll need a STB for it. For this display, I really don't need the program guide, VOD or other extras that come with a fully featured STB and am hoping that the dislays digital tuner will suffice.

Thanks for the info. I'll query the Comcast reps about this when they're here and post what they have to say. I've been considering replacing one of the analog displays with a new flat panel and am curious if I'll need a STB for it.It will depend.

As Comcast does digital transition in your area, there should be somewhere in the area of 35, or less, analog channels remaining, that any cable TV tuner should receive.

If they do not use filters for your residence, a new HDTV would have a clear QAM tune that would get all of what is known as Preferred Basic standard definition channels (currently 1-99) and all the local HD they carry in your area.

If the channel is on the Preferred Basic tier, like ESPN, then it will be in clear QAM. If the channel is on a Digital tier, like ESPN HD, then it will be encrypted and you'll need some kind of conditional access; cable STB, CableCard, tru2way.

The channels that are only HD, like HDNet, will only be available with a Digital tier.
The problem with that explanation is that the tiers aren't configured the same way in every area. There are several areas, including SE PA, N NJ, Boston, somewhere in FL, (and I thought, Detroit, as well), that have some (many) HD channels in Expd. Basic and some (a few) in Digital Classic.

Will the Expd. Basic HD channels get sent in the clear? My guess was no, because the the clear-QAM config. is being used to be able to implement DTAs to replicate what an Analog TV could get, which is equivilent to SD. If one has a Digital QAM TV to get Expd. Basic SD, then great, no DTA needed. However, I don't think they care to provide the HD versions in the clear.

In fact, with the current filtering system, I don't see how they could provide HD; the SD channels will have to go in place of the Analogs. So, I can't see them installing more filters for clear-QAM HD for non-Expd. Basic customers. If you find out differently, let us know.

Will the Expd. Basic HD channels get sent in the clear? Anything that was previously analog will be in clear QAM; channels 1-99, when an area goes digital. This is what the DTA is for. The problem, as I see it, is that any QAM tuner will also get them.

In fact, with the current filtering system, I don't see how they could provide HD; the SD channels will have to go in place of the Analogs. So, I can't see them installing more filters for clear-QAM HD for non-Expd. Basic customers.They will continue to provide local HD in clear QAM. So yes, between that and Internet service, filters could well be a problem.


By the way, in Detroit, Digital Classic is going away. See my recent posts in the Detroit area topic for details.

Will the Expd. Basic HD channels get sent in the clear? My guess was no, because the clear-QAM config. is being used to be able to implement DTAs to replicate what an Analog TV could get, which is equivilent to SD. If one has a Digital QAM TV to get Expd. Basic SD, then great, no DTA needed. However, I don't think they care to provide the HD versions in the clear.

Anything that was previously analog; channels 1-99. As they go digital, they will be in the clear. This is what the DTA is for. The problem is that any QAM tuner will get them.

Which I was clear on, as quoted above.

They will continue to provide local HD in clear QAM.

I know that, as well.

So yes, between that and Internet service, filters could be a problem.

What does 'that' refer to? Is it Expd. Basic HD? But, you aren't saying it will (or won't) be in the clear. Since it would be a problem, as I also said before, I don't think Comcast feels a need to provide more in the clear, than they do now.

By the way, in Detroit, Digital Classic is going away. See my recent posts in the Detroit area topic for details.
I searched for your messages posted in that thread, but couldn't find them.

Here, Digital Classic was effectively discontinued. What they did is leave Digital Pref. channels/service as is, and rename the service as Digital Classic, so it doesn't appear that some people are being forced to upgrade. (I knew they were going to do this, as they narrowed the price gap over the last two years.) Digital Pref. (now Classic) included all of the previous Digital Classic channels, so the HD channels contained are still the same.

Here the HD equivalent of the channels in the Standard package are available on the same package, encrypted though so you need a box.

Here they're also getting rid of Digital preferred, and making it digital classic.

Here the HD equivalent of the channels in the Standard package are available on the same package, encrypted though so you need a box.

That is how it is here now, as well. The HD exclusives are in Expd., as well. I just read that Boston is the same. I think Comcast is progressively standardizing their services across the US.

What does 'that' refer to?'That' refers to the combination of existing Internet services & local HD, and now the channels previously found in analog on 1-99 all being digital. I don't know if the existing filters in place will be suitable for use with 'That'.

This is what I refered to before as being confirmed. What is called Expanded Basic in your area (previous analog 1-99) will be in the clear, non-encrypted. Comcast is saying filters will be used. I haven't had the detailed explanation as yet, and while I agree they don't want to pass anything other than Limited Basic in the clear, Expanded Basic will also be in the clear, until the FCC is called on to allow cableco's to use other forms of encryption than conditional access with the DTA's.

I searched for your messages posted in that thread, but couldn't find them.
Here, Digital Classic was effectively discontinued. What they did is leave Digital Pref. channels/service as is, and rename the service as Digital Classic, so it doesn't appear that some people are being forced to upgrade. (I knew they were going to do this, as they narrowed the price gap over the last two years.) Digital Pref. (now Classic) included all of the previous Digital Classic channels, so the HD channels contained are still the same.

In Detroit:

- Digital Classic, a little subscribed to package, is being replaced with Digital Preferred, which will result in a 'significant' price increase. To offset the increase, they are offering to lock in a one year price of $115 per month for Internet, digital phone, and Digital Classic, for existing subscribers of any two services. The price for all three is about what any two of the services normally cost.

- Anyone with Digital Classic who has, or upgrades, to minimum Digital Phone, minimum Internet, and Digital Preferred, qualifies for the deal I mentioned above; $115 for a year. No contract.

- If you have Digital Classic and go for 6Mbps Internet & Unlimited Digital Phone, you'll get upgraded to Digital Preferred, get HBO, Showtime & Starz, all for $140 per month for a year. Compared to 6Mbps Internet, Unlimited Digital Phone, with Digital Classic and no premium, this new offer is ~$18 less per month for 19 more SD channels. No contract.

Digital Classic must have been a different service in your area compared to here.

You still didn't address the status of Expd. Basic HD, so I'll just assume you don't have any info. on it yet. But, as I said, I don't see it being in the clear, anyway, although it's possible.

Here, 2-99 is Ltd. Basic + Value Pack + Expd. Basic = Standard.
(Value Pack is only on some systems in the region, AFAIK. Other systems have those channels in Ltd. and/or Expd. Basic.)

You still didn't address the status of Expd. Basic HD, so I'll just assume you don't have any info. on it yet. But, as I said, I don't see it being in the clear, anyway, although it's possible.In Detroit, the Preferred Basic tier has no HD, except for local, so I don't think any other HD will be in the clear.

Well, certainly not there; but maybe in other areas, like here. It has been discussed in other threads, but doesn't seem realistic.

Here the HD equivalent of the channels in the Standard package are available on the same package, encrypted though so you need a box.

That is how it is here now, as well. The HD exclusives are in Expd., as well. I just read that Boston is the same. I think Comcast is progressively standardizing their services across the US.
Actually, now that I think of it, they still haven't completely matched equivilant SD and HD channels in all cases. Our Value Pack ($5.36) has six channels, and four of them have HD equivilants, but they require Expd. Basic, but not Value Pack.

Well, certainly not there; but maybe in other areas, like here. It has been discussed in other threads, but doesn't seem realistic.

http://www.comcast.com/michigan/

Look at the line up for Northville.

In Detroit, the Preferred Basic tier has no HD, except for local, so I don't think any other HD will be in the clear.

Well, certainly not there; but maybe in other areas, like here. It has been discussed in other threads, but doesn't seem realistic.

http://www.comcast.com/michigan/

Look at the line up for Northville.
I don't see your point. If you have no Pref. Basic HD, then indeed nothing other than Local HD would be in the clear, like you said, and I said surely so.

Looking at you area's info., I see that Digital Classic and Preferred were quite similar to what we had here, and you had/have a three channel Value Pack.

Also, the HD channel config. is like here, with almost all of the non-local, non-premium movie channels in Digital Starter, except for the same two HD channels in Digital Classic, and one in S&E Pack.

Isn't Digital Starter just Pref. Basic (Standard) with a Digital box, for the same fee? (like it is here)
If so, that is what I meant by Expd. Basic HD.

That is nice that they post this info., as they are just scans of the cards that are mandated to be accurate. I tried that link changing it to our state, and it didn't work. Anyway, I make sure to keep the cards they send.

Isn't Digital Starter just Pref. Basic (Standard) with a Digital box, for the same fee? (like it is here) If so, that is what I meant by Expd. Basic HD.Yup, but if you look at the fine print:

A subscription to Digital Starter is required to receive the
following HD channels: A&E, ABC Family, AMC, Animal Planet, Big Ten Network, CNN, Discovery, Disney Channel, ESPN, ESPN2,
Food Network, FSN Detroit, HD Theater, HGTV, History, MOJO, Palladia, Sci-Fi, TBS, TLC, TNT, Universal, Versus/Golf Channel, USA.

A subscription to Digital Classic is required to receive the following HD channels: Discovery Science, National Geographic.

A subscription to Sports Entertainment Package is required to receive NFL Network HD.

I always thought of this as the Comcast version of the Dish Network HD only packages.

In SE PA Digital Starter is what you need to get the HD cable channels(ESPNHD, CNNHD, History HD, etc) with the exception of Nat' GeoHD, that requires digi preferred.

I don't think Comcast has to do anything with the current traps/filters they use now. The only thing that traps need to do in this day and age is to trap out expanded basic channels to those people with limited basic service. What they'll probably do is put the newly unencrypted versions of the expanded basic channels in that trapped range. Any channel that is encrypted can be put outside the block of trapped frequencies. So all of the HD channels, digital cable channels(100's), PPV feeds, OnDemand, HSI frequencies, can all be put outside the trapped regions. They put the HSI frequencies nowhere close to the cutoff for the traps(around 500mhz).

Of course since ~40-50 expanded basic channels will not need 250mhz of space anymore, there will be more room in the trapped range. They could also put encrypted HD channels in there as well, since any customer receiving those HD channels needs digital starter, which requires expanded basic, which means those customers will NOT have a trap installed. A box would not be able to find those HD channels if it were hooked up to a trapped service address, but that situation would only exist if there was some kind of mistake.

In fact Comcast in my area just last week started putting HD channels in the range of expanded basic channels, which are trapped. We dropped about 6 analog slots, and they moved some HD channels into those old analog slots way down in the 300,400mhz areas.

So long as Comcast offers a tier of channels in analog form, they will need to continue to use traps to block access to unencrypted channels that a customer does not subscribe to.

Yup, but if you look at the fine print:

"A subscription to Digital Starter is required to receive the
following HD channels: A&E, ABC Family, AMC, Animal Planet, Big Ten Network, CNN, Discovery, Disney Channel, ESPN, ESPN2,
Food Network, FSN Detroit, HD Theater, HGTV, History, MOJO, Palladia, Sci-Fi, TBS, TLC, TNT, Universal, Versus/Golf Channel, USA.

A subscription to Digital Classic is required to receive the following HD channels: Discovery Science, National Geographic.

A subscription to Sports Entertainment Package is required to receive NFL Network HD."

I always thought of this as the Comcast version of the Dish Network HD only packages.

I did read the fine print, that is how I gleaned the info. in my message, and I basically re-stated it. I don't see what you are saying.
It seems apparent to me that 'Digital Starter' is just 'Pref. Basic/Standard' with a Digital SD or HD Box/DVR or CableCard, and the services within it are still called 'Ltd. Basic' and 'Expd. Basic' (or similar), whether they are Analog or Digital. So, I maintain that it appears from the card, that there is HD in 'Expd. Basic' in your area, call it 'Digital Expd. Basic', if you will; (just as there is HD in 'Digital Ltd. Basic', of course).

In SE PA Digital Starter is what you need to get the HD cable channels(ESPNHD, CNNHD, History HD, etc) with the exception of Nat' GeoHD, that requires digi preferred.

Yeah, they changed it a year ago.

Science HD is also in Digital Pref.

The SD equivilants of Natl. Geo. and Science are in Digital Pref., that is why the HD channels follow suit.

I don't think Comcast has to do anything with the current traps/filters they use now. The only thing that traps need to do in this day and age is to trap out expanded basic channels to those people with limited basic service. What they'll probably do is put the newly unencrypted versions of the expanded basic channels in that trapped range. Any channel that is encrypted can be put outside the block of trapped frequencies. So all of the HD channels, digital cable channels(100's), PPV feeds, OnDemand, HSI frequencies, can all be put outside the trapped regions. They put the HSI frequencies nowhere close to the cutoff for the traps(around 500mhz).

That is what I thought.

Of course since ~40-50 expanded basic channels will not need 250mhz of space anymore, there will be more room in the trapped range. They could also put encrypted HD channels in there as well, since any customer receiving those HD channels needs digital starter, which requires expanded basic, which means those customers will NOT have a trap installed. A box would not be able to find those HD channels if it were hooked up to a trapped service address, but that situation would only exist if there was some kind of mistake.

I didn't think of the bandwith issue being favorable in this regard. I assume you mean the encrypted Expd. HD channels would be left in the clear, but trapped out, so Digital QAM TVs could get them.

In fact Comcast in my area just last week started putting HD channels in the range of expanded basic channels, which are trapped. We dropped about 6 analog slots, and they moved some HD channels into those old analog slots way down in the 300,400mhz areas.

Interesting to see if they really do send these HDs in the clear.

So long as Comcast offers a tier of channels in analog form, they will need to continue to use traps to block access to unencrypted channels that a customer does not subscribe to.

Yep.

I just got Dish's TurboHD. Of course, they advertise 100 HD channels but if you count national channels (not pay-per-view and sports channels that are regional) I still get 70 channels. I only got 38 HD channels with Comcast here in Minneapolis. In addition, I am saving $50/month.

It seems they are adding 50 more channels by year end to the TurboHD package so that will probably translate to at least 20 or 30 national channels.

Anyway, TurboHD is the best out there and far superior to Comcast for way less money. I have nothing bu HDTV's and only now have HD channels to watch. Welcome to the 21st Century finally.

What does Dish give you more than Comcast? Do you have a cable box etc or some type of set top box?

What other channels do you get beyond HD channels? I have 2 kids so I'd like the kid channels (Nickelodeon etc)... Whats your monthly bill if you don't mind me asking? Do it increase over time (first 6 months at a lower rate or something?) PM me if you don't want to broadcast the info on the board.

Tuning into channels you don't pay for will not be a problem. If you have limited basic, then they will still continue to use traps to filter out a big chunk of channels, somewhere from 25ish to 70ish, give or take a few on each end. The words, from Comcast, that I was commenting on, seemed to indicate the contrary, i.e., that they would be relying on the lack of QAM tuners to limit theft, rather than traps.

The comments about initially not allowing encrpytion are interesting, and I've read in oher threads/articles that they will be seeking a waiver from the "seperable security" mandate for any cable company device. Personally i pray that the FCC does not allow it. If Martin was still the head then you could probably bet they wouldn't, since he seems to do everything in his power agaist cable companies. Or is it a vote where he only has one(or no) votes?He pretty much has gotten his way, and that will now be changing. However, don't expect his replacement to loosen rules concerning separable security too much.

Have they violated that part of the agreement?No. The agreement is sufficiently vague that what they've done satisfies that requirement.

The words, from Comcast, that I was commenting on, seemed to indicate the contrary, i.e., that they would be relying on the lack of QAM tuners to limit theft, rather than traps.
Not necessarily. They have the traps in place, so why not move the Digital SD Expd. Basic channels to the same freqs. as the Analog Expd. Basic channels? (As has been mentioned countless times.)

At least people with a subscription to Ltd. Basic (and any other services other than Expd. Basic) and QAM tuner, albeit few people, won't be able to so easily view Expd. Basic. The traps are a decent means of deterance, until signal encryption can be used.

They have the traps in place, so why not move the Digital SD Expd. Basic channels to the same freqs. as the Analog Expd. Basic channels?Because it would take one-tenth as much bandwidth. Also traps represent cost that providers are working to eliminate from their operations. Also traps interfere with HSI.

No. The agreement is sufficiently vague that what they've done satisfies that requirement.

That's what I suspected, and that's what I hate about these franchise agreements. Always vague enough for the cable co to get away with stuff, always vague enough for them to screw the customer.

And generally a reflection of the balance between the needs of consumers and that of business.

I have a question about about the local sportsnet plus stations. We in Fort Wayne just got Comcast Sportsnet Chicago HD (finally) but don't receive Comcast Sportsnet Chicago Plus. I know that in many markets, Comcast runs the extra sportnet plus game on MOJO (or whatever it will be called in December), but Comcast doesn't do that here. Is it a matter of each market doing things differently, or do most places that receive the local sportsnet channel also get the sportsnet plus games too? We had been getting the non HD version of Comcast Sportsnet Chicago for awhile, and Comcast never showed the plus games then either.

They have the traps in place, so why not move the Digital SD Expd. Basic channels to the same freqs. as the Analog Expd. Basic channels?

Because it would take one-tenth as much bandwidth. Also traps represent cost that providers are working to eliminate from their operations. Also traps interfere with HSI.

I have heard of traps interfering with Ltd. Basic, hence the price of HSI for non-TV subscribers is the same or more than the price of HSI + Ltd. Basic. While I know traps can interfere with channels next to the traps, I have not heard of people with HSI getting Expd. Basic routinely untrapped.

I not so sure they would rather have no traps, and let people with clear-QAM TVs get Expd. Basic. Clear-QAM TVs have been increasing, sure there still are few out there, and even fewer know about the capability of the QAM tuner, but word travels fast, and people would learn.

So, it takes 1/10th the bandwith, one idea was to put Expd. Basic HD in the clear as well, that takes up more bandwith; possible, but I am not optimistic about that.

I know traps are costly to provide and maintain, but would they rather some people downgrade, by dropping Expd. Basic? That is quite a pricey downgrade. And people can keep Ltd. Basic and still get Premiums and other Digital services.

I assume they use one trap now for Expd. Basic. Regardless, according to you, to use 9/10th the bandwith remaining they would have to remove the traps, anyway, so they may as well use new traps covering 1/10 the bandwith, better than nothing, I say, but we shall see.

The question is what costs more? Maintaining traps, or some portion of people downgrading. We guess; they know.

I have a question about about the local sportsnet plus stations. We in Fort Wayne just got Comcast Sportsnet Chicago HD (finally) but don't receive Comcast Sportsnet Chicago Plus. I know that in many markets, Comcast runs the extra sportnet plus game on MOJO (or whatever it will be called in December), but Comcast doesn't do that here. Is it a matter of each market doing things differently, or do most places that receive the local sportsnet channel also get the sportsnet plus games too? We had been getting the non HD version of Comcast Sportsnet Chicago for awhile, and Comcast never showed the plus games then either.


Here in South Bend and NW Indiana we would get Sportsnet plus HD games on 174 MOJO. Most of you know MOJO will be replaced with
Versus HD in our area in Dec. I do not know if Comcast still plans on
using 174 for Sportsnet plus. We never got the SD version of
Sportsnet plus in our area.

Here in South Bend and NW Indiana we would get Sportsnet plus HD games on 174 MOJO. Most of you know MOJO will be replaced with
Versus HD in our area in Dec. I do not know if Comcast still plans on
using 174 for Sportsnet plus. We never got the SD version of
Sportsnet plus in our area.

Should it be a given that you get Sportsnet Plus if you get the normal Sportsnet? I am wondering if I should try and make our local office aware of the fact that they wouldn't actually need to have a channel devoted only to Sportsnet +, but that there is some kind of agreement where the games play on Mojo or some other channel. It's kind of hard to explain to someone if they don't understand how it works in other markets.

Should it be a given that you get Sportsnet Plus if you get the normal Sportsnet? I am wondering if I should try and make our local office aware of the fact that they wouldn't actually need to have a channel devoted only to Sportsnet +, but that there is some kind of agreement where the games play on Mojo or some other channel. It's kind of hard to explain to someone if they don't understand how it works in other markets.


Thats a good question. This past summer there were times the Cubs
and Sox were on at the same time. One would be on 174 MOJO HD
(Comcast sportsnet plus) and the other on 200 Comcast sportsnet HD.
This did not happen alot during the season. I am part of Comcast greater Chicago region. You might be to far away to get Sportsnet
plus. Do you have WGN America? They also show alot of cubs games in HD. Excellent picture!

Cubbies_26, try this link

http://csnchicago.com/pages/zipcode

In Richmond, VA, CSN+ is on our system in SD, because our net, CSN DC, only shows the plus games in SD. We don't have nearly as many live games on the plus channel as you do though. When the competing network, MASN, was launched, they required all carriers to carry MASN and MASN2 since they carry 2 MLB teams. Comcast SportsNet still doesn't have CSN+ on a lot of cable system here though since it wasn't in most carriage agreements, but all of the Comcast systems here carry plus, and have since it started.

Thanks to both Bob and Keith for their replies. Keith, I have been requesting WGN America HD for awhile now, but it seems like my call/emails/chats/ fall upon deaf ears. Bob, I found it interesting that you stated not all cable systems that carry CSN must also carry CSN+. I am hoping I am I am able to speak/chat with someone who understands this situation, and is able to make those games on CSN+ available in Fort Wayne. It sounds like you think most Comcast providers that offer CSN also offer CSN+, so hopefully things will go well.

If you want a sneak peek at the new Panasonic box, go here. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15066959#post15066959

OMG I soooo want one of those boxes!

When the expanded basic channels have all become in the clear to be compatible with the DTA converters, what will the mapping be for the sets that have QAM tuners?

1. Can PSIP override the original analog channel number or are those reserved for NTSC only? (ie Comcast Digital 30 is still 30-0 on the built-in tuner)

2. Or can the expanded basic lineup be stuffed into one major channel? (ie 30-1 through 30-99 houses the lineup)

3. Or will Comcast most likely be a jerk and leave the channels all over the place and encourage their customers to get a box?

Another question, does the major channel in QAM correspond at all with the NTSC frequency of the same number?

250GB? That's weak. D* has had 500GB out for a few months.

1. Can PSIP override the original analog channel number or are those reserved for NTSC only? (ie Comcast Digital 30 is still 30-0 on the built-in tuner)PSIP is part of the ATSC standard for Digital TV, which is the system used to broadcast local SDTV & HDTV. PSIP is not a part of NTSC or QAM. For your local Digital TV stations, a cableco could choose to either pass PSIP or not pass it.

- By passing it, an HDTV with QAM tuner would receive the local HD & SD on the PSIP channel number.

- By not passing it, an HDTV with a QAM tuner would receive local HD & SD on the channel where the cableco puts it. The cableco strips the PSIP info from the ATSC signal before re-modulating it to QAM for distribution on the cable system. Once in QAM form, the cableco can then choose to use the QAM location as the channel number or assign any virtual channel number.

2. Or can the expanded basic lineup be stuffed into one major channel? (ie 30-1 through 30-99 houses the lineup)Theoretically a cableco could label channels as you suggest, using a dash 1 (-1, -2, -3, -4, etc.) through 99 for 99 different channels. The likelihood of that happening is less than nil.

3. Or will Comcast most likely be a jerk and leave the channels all over the place and encourage their customers to get a box?Any cableco has the ability to assign channels, whether they are local or cable/DBS channels, SD or HD, in any virtual location on their systems. Currently in most all areas, Comcast passes PSIP with local HDTV channels. For what is commonly referred to as cable & DBS channels, I would strongly believe they'll assign the same channel numbers for Expanded Basic 1-99 they are using now, but each Comcast area could use whatever approach they wanted to.

Another question, does the major channel in QAM correspond at all with the NTSC frequency of the same number?There is no relationship between a QAM channel number and an NTSC frequency or channel number, or ATSC frequency or channel number, other than how the cableco chooses to assign the virtual channel locations.

Is it true that in areas where they added Speed Channel HD they added it to the sports package for an extra 5 bucks and moved ESPN2HD to the sports package as well?

PSIP is part of the ATSC standard for Digital TV, which is the system used to broadcast local SDTV & HDTV. PSIP is not a part of NTSC or QAM. For your local Digital TV stations, a cableco could choose to either pass PSIP or not pass it.



I'm 99% certain that if the station provides the PSIP in the stream, the cableco has to pass it on per FCC regs. This has been discussed in the past and I believe that was the bottom line. If it's not provided, the cableco does not have to generate one, but if it's there, they must pass it on.

Is it true that in areas where they added Speed Channel HD they added it to the sports package for an extra 5 bucks and moved ESPN2HD to the sports package as well?

In Chicago, the Speed Channel (SD and HD) is in the Sports & Entertainment package which is 7.99/mo. ESPN2HD is in the Digital Preferred package.

In Chicago, the Speed Channel (SD and HD) is in the Sports & Entertainment package which is 7.99/mo. ESPN2HD is in the Digital Preferred package.

+1, same for utah. no way they add espn2 to the sports package. espn2 is still bigger by far than any other sports channels that aren't relegated to a sports package.

I'm 99% certain that if the station provides the PSIP in the stream, the cableco has to pass it on per FCC regs. This has been discussed in the past and I believe that was the bottom line. If it's not provided, the cableco does not have to generate one, but if it's there, they must pass it on.If the FCC does not enforce the regs, they are meaningless, and in this case, the FCC doesn't enforce the regs. There are lots of cableco's all over the country that don't pass PSIP.

If the FCC does not enforce the regs, they are meaningless, and in this case, the FCC doesn't enforce the regs. There are lots of cableco's all over the country that don't pass PSIP.

hehe..so it's not illegal unless you get caught, always been my moto! :p

hehe..so it's not illegal unless you get caught, always been my moto! :p

Not mine. Wrong is wrong.

Yes, here in the SF bay with Comcast they're usually pretty good about it. With occasional QAM changes it sometimes gets dropped but it's added back fairly quick.

Any cableco has the ability to assign channels, whether they are local or cable/DBS channels, SD or HD, in any virtual location on their systems. Currently in most all areas, Comcast passes PSIP with local HDTV channels. For what is commonly referred to as cable & DBS channels, I would strongly believe they'll assign the same channel numbers for Expanded Basic 1-99 they are using now, but each Comcast area could use whatever approach they wanted to.

Thanks Ken, but can major channel 30 with no minor designation qualify as a virtual location because its an NTSC frequency? I can understand Comcast 30 and 50 being tuner 30-1 and 50-1 if thats what you meant.

But if 30-0 on the tuner can indeed be Comcast 30, I suppose that would explain why in hotels a regular channel 7 on the room tv was indeed digital 7.1.

Not mine. Wrong is wrong.

Amen.

ESPN has way too much power to ever let either of its main channels go to a sports tier. It looks like ABC even uses ESPN as leverage to get ABC Family HD and Disney Channel HD added to cable systems with very little HD content. ESPN also gets about $5 a month for each cable subscriber, making it the most expensive basic cable channel.

New channels in Boston:

771 HBO Signature HD
772 HBO Family HD
773 HBO Latino HD
774 HBO Comedy HD
775 HBO Zone HD
776 More Max HD
777 Action Max HD
778 5 Star Max HD
779 Thriller Max HD
780 Cinemax West HD
781 @Max HD
782 Outer Max HD
788 Lifetime Move Network HD
871 HBO Plus HD
879 Showcase HD
880 Showtime Extreme HD
884 TMC Xtra HD

(HBO Plus is now called HBO2.)

New channels in Boston:



(HBO Plus is now called HBO2.)






Oh my god! How many HD channels does Comcast has in their Boston market? I live in Chicago so when will these channels be added here? Chicago still doesn't have Travel Channel HD, The Movie Channel HD & Showtime 2.

Is Boston all digital or do they have just Basic service in analog like Chicago?

Only limited basic is analog in Boston, like Chi-town.

Comcast to add CBS College Sports HD:


As to Comcast, CBS College Sports has launched on the operator's digital classic package in Atlanta, and Rose said the network will migrate there from sports tiers in Boston and Minneapolis by year-end.

...The gains on Comcast stem from a deal in which CBS Sports gave Golf Channel, which is part of the operator's programming group, rights to televise early-round action from a dozen tournaments on Saturdays and Sundays. In exchange, CBS College Sports benefited by launching in Atlanta and gaining improved positioning in Minneapolis and Beantown, which will also launch the HD service.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6615009.html?desc=topstory

On 12/18 in Baltimore, CBS College Sports will move from Sports & Entertainment to Digital Classic. MLB Network will be added. No word on HD for either yet.

Comcast to add CBS College Sports HD:


http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6615009.html?desc=topstory

"The deal with FiOS encompasses the rollout of the standard-definition CBS College Sports Network this year, ahead of the 2009 launch of an HD version, according to Bob Rose, executive vice president, distribution, CBS College Sports Network."

Anyone have any idea if the CSTV downgrade to Digital Classic is a nationwide thing, or just regional? The multichannel article seemed to indicate in a few regions/states only.

There is a Comcast ad in today's (11/17) Star Ledger (page 17) advising that effective "on or about December 15, 2008, the following channels will be moving from HD Plus to Digital Classic HD Service:
WealthTV HD - Channel 179
HDNet Movies - Channel 182
HDNet - Channel 183"

There is a Comcast ad in today's (11/17) Star Ledger (page 17) advising that effective "on or about December 15, 2008, the following channels will be moving from HD Plus to Digital Classic HD Service:
WealthTV HD - Channel 179
HDNet Movies - Channel 182
HDNet - Channel 183"

Does anyone in NJ have HDNet or HDNet movies in the first place???????

Can you scan that ad, was wondering which Comcast NJ Systems will be getting it?

Comcast Brings Wideband to Pacific Northwest

MSO Deploys DOCSIS 3.0 Service in Oregon and Washington State

By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 11/17/2008 1:20:00 PM

Comcast is launching wideband cable modem service—delivering downloads up to 50 Mbps—throughout its Washington State and Oregon footprint beginning in December.

The service will be available to subscribers in cities including Seattle, Spokane, Wash., Portland, Ore., and Eugene, Ore. Comcast serves about 1.2 million video subscribers in Washington and 600,000 in Oregon.

Last month, Comcast launched wideband service in New England, including the Boston metropolitan region and southern New Hampshire, and the greater Philadelphia metropolitan region. The company first deployed DOCSIS 3.0 commercially in Minneapolis/St. Paul in April.

The MSO has said it plans to roll out DOCSIS 3.0 services, available in 22- and 50-Mbps downstream tiers, to 10 million premises in at least 10 markets over the next few months.

In the Pacific Northwest, Comcast will primarily compete with DSL services from Qwest Communications International (which advertises download speeds up to 12 Mbps) and Verizon Communications (up to 7.1 Mbps).

Verizon, in the Portland market, offers FiOS Internet with up to 50-Mbps download speeds as well as FiOS TV service. The telco expects to reach more than 270,000 households and small businesses in Oregon with the fiber-to-the-premises network by the end of 2008.

Comcast’s residential pricing for the two wideband tiers in Washington and Oregon is the same as in the previous markets. Extreme 50, offering up to 50 Mbps downstream and up to 10 Mbps upstream, is $139.95 per month with cable TV service; Ultra, up to 22 down and 5 Mbps up, is $62.95 per month with cable TV service.

In addition to the new wideband tiers, Comcast will increase speeds for most existing customers. The “Performance” tier will double downstream and upstream speeds, offering up to 12 Mbps and 2 Mbps respectively. “Performance Plus” customers will be upgraded to Comcast's Blast! tier, which will double download speeds to up to 16 Mbps and provide up to 2 Mbps of upload speed.

Comcast customers can check availability of wideband at www.comcast.com/fastestfast.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6615297.html

There is a Comcast ad in today's (11/17) Star Ledger (page 17) advising that effective "on or about December 15, 2008, the following channels will be moving from HD Plus to Digital Classic HD Service:
WealthTV HD - Channel 179
HDNet Movies - Channel 182
HDNet - Channel 183"
BMAG, read the small print, it clearly says Applies to Comcast of Central NJ II(Somerset) ONLY They currently have it, they are a system Comcast bought, I believe, earlier this year. All they are doing is moving these channels to Digital Classic HD service.

A Comcast subscriber in Minneapolis (former TW area that already had the HDNets) received a postcard via snail mail last week:

"Comcast is announcing the following changes to the Minneapolis Area as specified below:

• Channel 420 HDNet will be moving to the Digital Starter HD package (effective 12-17-08).

• Comcast will stop carrying Channel 421 HDNet Movies (effective 1-1-09)."

The St. Paul system (NOT formerly TW) has never had the HDNets.

I wonder why they will stop carrying HDNet MOVIES on 1-1-09? Could the HDNet channels be consolidating into one?? :confused:

There is a Comcast ad in today's (11/17) Star Ledger (page 17) advising that effective "on or about December 15, 2008, the following channels will be moving from HD Plus to Digital Classic HD Service:
WealthTV HD - Channel 179
HDNet Movies - Channel 182
HDNet - Channel 183"

I guess Comcast made a carriage deal with Wealth TV before their carriage complaint went to the Administrative Law Judge at the FCC. I knew that they gave them time to make a deal, but never heard anything else.

...The gains on Comcast stem from a deal in which CBS Sports gave Golf Channel, which is part of the operator's programming group, rights to televise early-round action from a dozen tournaments on Saturdays and Sundays. In exchange, CBS College Sports benefited by launching in Atlanta and gaining improved positioning in Minneapolis and Beantown, which will also launch the HD service.

Maybe they can show NFL Network how to make a deal if they want their channel on a broader tier. Unfortunately, NFL wants to give DirecTV everything and expects the best from everyone they shun.

FXHD 830 (FX HD)
FNCHD 841 (Fox News HD)

Both now showing in Haverhill, MA

Check for Speed HD as well...FNC, FX, and SPEED come on the same mux together.

Check for Speed HD as well...FNC, FX, and SPEED come on the same mux together.

So far, only 830 and 841 in East Bridgewater, Ma. I would actually prefer Fox Business Channel HD to Speed.

"Comcast is announcing the following changes to the Minneapolis Area as specified below:

• Channel 420 HDNet will be moving to the Digital Starter HD package (effective 12-17-08).

• Comcast will stop carrying Channel 421 HDNet Movies (effective 1-1-09)."

Interesting thing is, they're doing the same thing here in Houston, moving HDNet from a separate pay tier ($3.00 for the two HDNet Channels) to "Digital Classic" with the rest of the HD channels, and and dropping HDNet Movies on January 1.

+1, same for utah. no way they add espn2 to the sports package. espn2 is still bigger by far than any other sports channels that aren't relegated to a sports package.

Makes sense. I just saw their local listings and ESPN2HD was listed as "sports", same as NFL Network and Speed HD. ESPNHD was not listed that way. Just curious. I'm glad I'm not paying extra to get those.