Yeah, thanks, I saw your earlier post about this. I've seen some posts here saying they were able to get the $99 bundle a week after their bundle expired and others able to get the package by threatening to cancel their service. I'm going to give it a shot today.

What exactly is in the $159 bundle? I can't possibly see what other channels I need that aren't in the $129 bundle except maybe the channels in the sports entertainment pack.

$159 gives you ALL the movie channels PLUS SnE AND The DVR! (HD DVR even) :)

Internet speed gets kicked up a bit as well

Just got the new bill

They took my discount away and replaced it with a $20 credit to the higherr prices.

I want my $159 package back or some trimming is in order starting with th elimination of the land line.

OTOH Fios seems to be available in my building. I will see what THEY have to offer.

A must is:

TV Premier,HBO,Cinemax,and the Movie package (sports package not essential as ESPN,ESPN2,ESPNnews,NESN,Comcast Sportsnet,NFL Network and perhaps Verses are sufficient for my sports needs)

An HD DVR!

15/2 internet (or 20/2) :)

A phone line -Access to voice mail and the option to NOT have Call Waiting ( I DO WANT Caller ID)

$159 would be great for this package. :)

Any new word of new HD channels on Comcast after 7/15? Also, i looked at Channel line-up for02134 (Allston). It list channels up to Ch 80. Where do the numbered channels begin to be digital only ones? I assumed that 3 digit ones were and that 2 digits ones are still analog. That is the way it is in the burbs.

Don't expect new HD channels on 7/16. The movement of the analogs to digital will be phased over a short period starting on 7/15. Perhaps by 8/1 we'll see a few new HD channels here.

Do not be surprised to see them on the 16th. I remember a few times when a channel was going digital only it went around 12 midnight and by 1230 there was some new HD programming on.

OTOH I may be with Fios by this time next month. Looks like the 21st

Do not be surprised to see them on the 16th. I remember a few times when a channel was going digital only it went around 12 midnight and by 1230 there was some new HD programming on.

OTOH I may be with Fios by this time enxt month.

What! No more chitchat in our Boston-Comcast thread? Who will make all the future predictions for us? Oh, I see Bicker is auditioning for the position, but he will have big shoes to fill! :D

What! No more chitchat in our Boston-Comcast thread? Who will make all the future predictions for us? Oh, I see Bicker is auditioning for the position, but he will have big shoes to fill! :D

Should we warn the Bostion-Fios thread (is there a boston fios thread ? ) that Chitchat may be on the way :D

-Ken

Should we warn the Bostion-Fios thread (is there a boston fios thread ? ) that Chitchat may be on the way :D

-Ken

It's too late. :)

Speaking of predictions:

186 TruTV
188 CN8
234 Inspiration
251 MSNBC
269 Big Ten Network
822 NHL Network HD
824 Disney HD
826 ABC Family HD
847 Weather channel HD
857 Science channel HD
859 AMC HD
867 TLC HD

I forsee the rest of Eastern Ma getting all the HD channels Boston now has.
269 is a hunch

All on the 16th? Let's hope you're prediction comes true.

If I ran comcast there would be HD all over the place and NO Analog. :D

OTOH digital starter would be un encrypted

If i was starting a cable co from the ground up everyone would have HD boxes (as the motorolas can easily downconvert to 4:3 480i (Many of them even have RF outputs)

channels offered in HD would be ONLY IN HD!

If I ran comcast there would be HD all over the place and NO Analog. :D

OTOH digital starter would be un encrypted

If i was starting a cable co from the ground up everyone would have HD boxes (as the motorolas can easily downconvert to 4:3 480i (Many of them even have RF outputs)

channels offered in HD would be ONLY IN HD!

Thats why Comcast has not sent you a application! :D

only 269 is a pure hunch. the others are announced or are on the Boston/Brookline system already. Is there anyone on the Boston/Broookline system who could tell me what channels are left that can be received in analog without a digital box in Boston? Brookline? Also, did Comcast keep the old 2 trunk 450 MHZ infastrucure of Cablevision and upgrade both for higher bandwidth or just keep 1 trunk to 750 or 860 Mhz?

Chitchat, btw, I think you meant 869 not 269 for Big Ten HD

Chitchat, btw, I think you meant 869 not 269 for Big Ten HD

I don't think we're gonna get Big Ten in HD. We are outside the big ten area and it will be mainly a SnE channel.

I don't think we're gonna get Big Ten in HD. We are outside the big ten area and it will be mainly a SnE channel.

Too much competition around these parts with 5 pro teams and BC so I don't know why anyone would want that channel anyways unless you are an alumni of one of the schools.

I just hope the Weather Channel is one they add soon, with all the storms we have had recently they sure would look great on HD radar!

Cox RI gives 30-60 days heads up on new HD. Why wont Comcast-NE?

Why should they? How much extra profit will that generate, over and above the cost associated with doing so when something unexpected occurs and they have to have a delay?

If I ran comcast there would be HD all over the place and NO Analog. :D

OTOH digital starter would be un encrypted

If i was starting a cable co from the ground up everyone would have HD boxes (as the motorolas can easily downconvert to 4:3 480i (Many of them even have RF outputs)

channels offered in HD would be ONLY IN HD!

Haven't we gone over this one before? Comcast has to make a slow change from analog to digital because of all the senior citizens out there who would call Ed Markey if they lost Lifetime or had to pay a penny more and operate a cable box. As much as I agree with you that Comcast should go all HD all the time, about 50% of their base is still entrenched with cable from the wall to the TV.

My crystal ball has been broken since the last report of HD channel launch did not happen, except for those living in the Boston/Brookline area. Hopefully, I will have some exciting news this afternoon.

Chitchat :

What happened with your $159 renewal ? Did you get them to fix it ? I'm worried that when I get my bill I will have the same problem.

By the way anyone having problems with comcast, there is a guy that goes by the name of "comcastcares" on Twitter. He works high up the corporate chain and has been very helpful to many.

-Ken

Good afternoon. Just picked up a replacement dch DVR from the local office. When I get it home should it download the TiVo software that I had on previous dead box or will they need to roll a truck? Woman at the local office just smirked when I asked her.

Thanks

Good afternoon. Just picked up a replacement dch DVR from the local office. When I get it home should it download the TiVo software that I had on previous dead box or will they need to roll a truck? Woman at the local office just smirked when I asked her.

Thanks

Depends on if the office set it up correctly when they gave you the box. I'd call customer care just to be sure before plugging it in.

Here we go:

There is going to be an authorization switch with some of the HD channels. The original 6 like TNT and ESPN will move from Digital Classic to Standard. This will happen the same day as some of the analog move to digital. If you have basic with digital classic, you may want to reconsider.

Round 1: 7/22 - Disney (because someone here is a Hannah Montanna fan), ABC Family and Science Channel launch in HD.

Round 2: 7/29 - AMC, TLC, Showtime Too and TMC all launch in HD.

Round 3: TBA :)

Round 2: 7/29 - AMC, TLC, Showtime Too and TMC all launch in HD.Two days after Mad Men season 2 starts...

AMC is already in HD in Boston.

Why should they? How much extra profit will that generate, over and above the cost associated with doing so when something unexpected occurs and they have to have a delay?

Customer Service?

Here we go:

There is going to be an authorization switch with some of the HD channels. The original 6 like TNT and ESPN will move from Digital Classic to Standard. This will happen the same day as some of the analog move to digital. If you have basic with digital classic, you may want to reconsider.

Round 1: 7/22 - Disney (because someone here is a Hannah Montanna fan), ABC Family and Science Channel launch in HD.

Round 2: 7/29 - AMC, TLC, Showtime Too and TMC all launch in HD.

Round 3: TBA :)

Still no Weather Channel! :mad:

AMC is already in HD in Boston.

Boston is special with their old dual trunk system and only having basic channels on analog. I have HD envy and wished I lived in that area so I can have all of those HD channels. Round 3 actually has to do with Boston only....

Depends on if the office set it up correctly when they gave you the box. I'd call customer care just to be sure before plugging it in.

Thanks for the help..they didn't set it up properly and I called in. Seems to work like a charm now. Was also informed that the software update for tivo is supposed to be pushed out tomorrow night/Wednesday for my area.

what about NHL HD, not that we need it until October? Still, my buddy in RI-Cox likes to rub it in that he has it and we don't

I live in Boston and the HD channels are great but not having NESN and my analog TVs stinks!

Two days after Mad Men season 2 starts...

I don't know if this helps or not, but in Dover, NH Comcast offers MM in HD On-Demand. Have you looked there?

Still no Weather Channel! :mad:

Please don't take this as a criticism, but can someone explain the fascination of a lot of people here with TWC-HD? I don't get it.

I watch TWC in extremely small doses (Weather on the 8's, extreme weather). It's not a channel I can see a lot of people (myself included) watching regularly. The field reports are most likely in SD, I would imagine, so that basically leaves weather maps (which I agree would look nice in HD) and anchors. I can think of many more HD channels I would prefer before TWC (MGM-HD, FX, HD-Net come to mind).

Weather watchers are very dedicated. Thus, the over 5-minute weather forecasts on the local news channels that could probably be shrunk down to about a 30-second recap. That, plus the fact that, aside from the next 12 hours, they seldom get it right anyway and make 6 figures.

Keeping an eye on the competition:

RCN going all-digital in Boston (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6575768.html)

Keeping an eye on the competition:

RCN going all-digital in Boston (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6575768.html)

Unfortunately, Comcast has too many customers who refuse to upgrade and pay for a digital box. When Comcast did it out in Chicago, the citizens raised a ruckus and complained to any government official who would listen. Instead of switching off all the non-basic channels, Comcast in New England is going to slowly pull channels off of analog and move them to digital only. One day, the rest of New England will be like Boston/Brookline and have just as many HD channels. Until then, us who are far ahead of the curve have to suffer because of those who refuse to get with the times.

Comcast offers MM in HD On-Demand.Yeah, I watched all last season On Demand, but I much prefer having the control of a DVR, even if it means I have to deal with commercials...

Is anyone else completely out of service in the Needham area?

Chitchat :

What happened with your $159 renewal ? Did you get them to fix it ? I'm worried that when I get my bill I will have the same problem.

By the way anyone having problems with comcast, there is a guy that goes by the name of "comcastcares" on Twitter. He works high up the corporate chain and has been very helpful to many.

-Ken

Yeah, I read about that "comcastcares" guy in the globe (http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/07/07/hurry_up_the_customer_has_a_complaint/).

Until then, us who are far ahead of the curve have to suffer because of those who refuse to get with the times.

I agree with you to a certain extent, but there are many people who can't *afford* to pay $8-9 bucks per month for EACH tv. I have one HD box and three analog tvs without boxes. The additional cost to me (after the first year) would be an additional $25-$30 over what I'm paying now ! I simply cannot afford that !! As chitchat points out time and time again, extended basic should be unencrypted QAM so at least if you have a new tv you wouldnt have to get a box.

-Ken

Here we go:

There is going to be an authorization switch with some of the HD channels. The original 6 like TNT and ESPN will move from Digital Classic to Standard. This will happen the same day as some of the analog move to digital. If you have basic with digital classic, you may want to reconsider.

Round 1: 7/22 - Disney (because someone here is a Hannah Montanna fan), ABC Family and Science Channel launch in HD.

Round 2: 7/29 - AMC, TLC, Showtime Too and TMC all launch in HD.

Round 3: TBA :)

Actually The Hanna Montana concert film will also be on Starz and on starz on Demand in 3D and HD. :)

7/21 I'm doing Fios so no new HD channels of that sort for me OTOH HI get the H channels.

Unfortunately, Comcast has too many customers who refuse to upgrade and pay for a digital box. When Comcast did it out in Chicago, the citizens raised a ruckus and complained to any government official who would listen. Instead of switching off all the non-basic channels, Comcast in New England is going to slowly pull channels off of analog and move them to digital only. One day, the rest of New England will be like Boston/Brookline and have just as many HD channels. Until then, us who are far ahead of the curve have to suffer because of those who refuse to get with the times.

This is why I say UNencrypt the Digital starter tier :)

I agree with you to a certain extent, but there are many people who can't *afford* to pay $8-9 bucks per month for EACH tv. I have one HD box and three analog tvs without boxes. The additional cost to me (after the first year) would be an additional $25-$30 over what I'm paying now ! I simply cannot afford that !! As chitchat points out time and time again, extended basic should be unencrypted QAM so at least if you have a new tv you wouldnt have to get a box.

-Ken

My second set is an HD. For the first 6 months of the special I had a DVR on it. After the super bowl I turned in the DVR was was content with extended analog and digital basic.

When I was making the order my wallet said either go 20/2 or stick with 10/2 and get that second box.

Please don't take this as a criticism, but can someone explain the fascination of a lot of people here with TWC-HD? I don't get it.

I watch TWC in extremely small doses (Weather on the 8's, extreme weather). It's not a channel I can see a lot of people (myself included) watching regularly. The field reports are most likely in SD, I would imagine, so that basically leaves weather maps (which I agree would look nice in HD) and anchors. I can think of many more HD channels I would prefer before TWC (MGM-HD, FX, HD-Net come to mind).

I would bet there would be more HD on the weather channel than any of those other channels listed and besides being a weather nut, I also like stations that show real HD in real time, hence my desire for this channel.

...but there are many people who can't *afford* to pay $8-9 bucks per month for EACH tv...
-Ken
That is the issue. It is more financial than technical. Ultimately, an inexpensive digital-to-analog device will be the only workable cure.

Mickey

That is the issue. It is more financial than technical. Ultimately, an inexpensive digital-to-analog device will be the only workable cure.

Mickey


To me its not the additional non-hd box charge (3.95), its the additional digital outlet charge. This is pure comcast greediness, there is no reason for this charge other than to make money.

Here we go:

There is going to be an authorization switch with some of the HD channels. The original 6 like TNT and ESPN will move from Digital Classic to Standard. This will happen the same day as some of the analog move to digital. If you have basic with digital classic, you may want to reconsider.

Round 1: 7/22 - Disney (because someone here is a Hannah Montanna fan), ABC Family and Science Channel launch in HD.

Round 2: 7/29 - AMC, TLC, Showtime Too and TMC all launch in HD.

Round 3: TBA :)

So what will the channel lineup be now? I would like to save the ~$10 a month for Digital Classic, but I need to know what channels are moving. I have no idea what the "original 6" means.

My wife is going to be thrilled that TLC will be in HD.

Hope that Weather Channel -HD will be in the next round. Does anyone have an idea how many analogs will go digital only in Q4 2008?

I didn't have much time to investigate this morning, but it looks like Boston got the new (minorly improved) A25 guide last night. The only thing I noticed was the new search interface with the text pad instead of the scrolling characters - this is actually a pretty worthwhile improvement. I've heard that the red light issue is also fixed on the DCH boxes, but I'll have to check it out later.
http://www.comcast.com/newguide/

I didn't have much time to investigate this morning, but it looks like Boston got the new (minorly improved) A25 guide last night. The only thing I noticed was the new search interface with the text pad instead of the scrolling characters - this is actually a pretty worthwhile improvement. I've heard that the red light issue is also fixed on the DCH boxes, but I'll have to check it out later.
http://www.comcast.com/newguide/


Here in chelmsford we've had the new improved guide for about a week.

Ken

Good afternoon. Just picked up a replacement dch DVR from the local office. When I get it home should it download the TiVo software that I had on previous dead box or will they need to roll a truck? Woman at the local office just smirked when I asked her.

Thanks

Try tivocommunity.com
They have some nasty things to say about the state of the TiVo SW in the Comcast box. Not at all ready for prime time.

We've had the text pad search in NH for at least the last month.

We've had the text pad search in NH for at least the last month.

Yeah at least a month if not two.

Figured I'd post some stuff which may be interesting to some.
The link below will lead you to a web page which I compiled and put on my web space and lists the associated bitrates to video programs for the cable antenna. I used an Autumnwave OnAir HDTV-GT and TS Reader to extract the program and bitrate information. I will soon do the same in the other forum.

Enjoy - Motortree

http://mysite.verizon.net/motortree/index.htm

I agree with you to a certain extent, but there are many people who can't *afford* to pay $8-9 bucks per month for EACH tv. I have one HD box and three analog tvs without boxes. The additional cost to me (after the first year) would be an additional $25-$30 over what I'm paying now ! I simply cannot afford that !! As chitchat points out time and time again, extended basic should be unencrypted QAM so at least if you have a new tv you wouldnt have to get a box.

-Ken

This is why I say UNencrypt the Digital starter tier :)

That is the issue. It is more financial than technical. Ultimately, an inexpensive digital-to-analog device will be the only workable cure.

Mickey

The whole thing is basically a double edge sword for the consumers. Sure you have 3 analog TVs in the house but you want more HD channels. The only way to provide more HD channels is to convert analog channels over to digital. But now you are losing channels off of your analog TV. Comcast has several unencrypted digital channels inside digital starter but your TV needs to have a digital tuner inside of it or you need a cable box. This is also the reason why FIOS, Dish and DirecTV need you to have a cable box on each TV and now the same with RCN. This is why I laugh at people who say they do not want to rent extra cable boxes and in the same breath say they are going to switch to DircTV. Eventually Comcast will do the same thing. Its not out of greediness but out of neccessity to stay competitive with who has the most HD programming. For you Ken, its a win/lose situation. For me, its a win/win situation because both of my TVs have HD boxes on them. When the digital to analog device come out, it would certainly help you out but for now, this is what Comcast has to do to keep up with everyone else. We on these forums are demanding more HD channels so something has to be sacrificed and that would be the analog stations.

The whole thing is basically a double edge sword for the consumers. Sure you have 3 analog TVs in the house but you want more HD channels. The only way to provide more HD channels is to convert analog channels over to digital. But now you are losing channels off of your analog TV. Comcast has several unencrypted digital channels inside digital starter but your TV needs to have a digital tuner inside of it or you need a cable box. This is also the reason why FIOS, Dish and DirecTV need you to have a cable box on each TV and now the same with RCN. This is why I laugh at people who say they do not want to rent extra cable boxes and in the same breath say they are going to switch to DircTV. Eventually Comcast will do the same thing. Its not out of greediness but out of neccessity to stay competitive with who has the most HD programming. For you Ken, its a win/lose situation. For me, its a win/win situation because both of my TVs have HD boxes on them. When the digital to analog device come out, it would certainly help you out but for now, this is what Comcast has to do to keep up with everyone else. We on these forums are demanding more HD channels so something has to be sacrificed and that would be the analog stations.

You missed my point, take all the analog stations away but give me unencrypted QAM on extended basic. Then I have my choice to buy a box or upgrade my tv to eliminate the need for a box.

-Ken

You missed my point, take all the analog stations away but give me unencrypted QAM on extended basic. Then I have my choice to buy a box or upgrade my tv to eliminate the need for a box.

-Ken
Although I like this suggestion, QAM tuners seem to be available on mostly high-end sets, so this solution probably does not work well for the elderly/poor people wanting an adequate number of channels for the few oil-depleted dollars they have to spend.

Mickey

I also would like NHL in HD and Game HD for the sports packages

Although I like this suggestion, QAM tuners seem to be available on mostly high-end sets, so this solution probably does not work well for the elderly/poor people wanting an adequate number of channels for the few oil-depleted dollars they have to spend.

Mickey

Every single 26" flat screen that Im looking at for my kitchen have QAM . I think it's standard now.

-Ken

Couple of things;1 Comcast will keep OTA signals in an analog form until 2012. 2 Analog reclamation of cable channels to digital will proceed.3) RCN and Verizon FIOS will be all digital in 2009.4) Comcast staff reads this board.
I would like everyone to list 4 current analog channels they would sacrifice to digital only.
My 4 would be:
CSPAN 1
Cartoon Network
Golf Channel
BraVO
MTV


i HAVE 2 HD SETS, 1 SD Set on a digital box and 1 SD set , analog only. and my town does not currently have FIOS and does not have RCN.

Every single 26" flat screen that Im looking at for my kitchen have QAM . I think it's standard now.

-Ken

I recently picked up an RCA 14" set at WalMart here in Canton, Ohio and It has a QAM Tuner..More and more of the new sets seem to have it..

Couple of things;1 Comcast will keep OTA signals in an analog form until 2012. 2 Analog reclamation of cable channels to digital will proceed.3) RCN and Verizon FIOS will be all digital in 2009.4) Comcast staff reads this board.
I would like everyone to list 4 current analog channels they would sacrifice to digital only.
My 4 would be:
CSPAN 1
Cartoon Network
Golf Channel
BraVO
MTV


i HAVE 2 HD SETS, 1 SD Set on a digital box and 1 SD set , analog only. and my town does not currently have FIOS and does not have RCN.

How about all of them except for OTAs, news networks, ESPN (they would never budge) and the CSPAN nets (people deserve to get an eye at their government).

I recently picked up an RCA 14" set at WalMart here in Canton, Ohio and It has a QAM Tuner..More and more of the new sets seem to have it..

All sets manufactured since I think June of last year or maybe 2006 are required to have a QAM tuner.

...My 4 would be:
CSPAN 1
Cartoon Network
Golf Channel
BraVO
MTV...

Your 4 would be 5

I just got the update 15 minutes ago.

All sets manufactured since I think June of last year or maybe 2006 are required to have a QAM tuner.
I stand corrected. It looks like I'm out of touch again. Is Bill Clinton still President?

Here are my 4 for digital only:

Spike
History
Bravo
AMC
Sci-Fi
Animal-P
Golf/Versus
Hallmark
C-SPAN 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.

(Maybe 4 isn't enough.)

Mickey

All sets manufactured since I think June of last year or maybe 2006 are required to have a QAM tuner.

ATSC is required. QAM is optional.

I come home today to discover the a25 upgrade was applied since 2am. Menu looks a bit different, feels faster and the new search is nice.

I come home today to discover the a25 upgrade was applied since 2am. Menu looks a bit different, feels faster and the new search is nice.

I came home to find a Comcast TiVo box that does everything it was supposed to do. Seems like a wonderful upgrade last night.

As an afterthought, the expanded channels are unencrypted. When I first hooked up my Sony TV without a cable box or cable card, it read over 300 digital channels available and I could see expanded line-up. So maybe its just a matter of TV then the system.

I came home to find a Comcast TiVo box that does everything it was supposed to do. Seems like a wonderful upgrade last night.

As an afterthought, the expanded channels are unencrypted. When I first hooked up my Sony TV without a cable box or cable card, it read over 300 digital channels available and I could see expanded line-up. So maybe its just a matter of TV then the system.

You have the TiVo service? What do you think of it? I was thinking of getting it myself.

Just had a Comcast DVR installed 3 days ago. After I did a series recording for 'Burn Notice" yesterday it 'forgot' it. Traced it to a change in the program listing (wrong) indicating that Thursdays program was a 90 minute repeat starting at 9:30 PM, not the NEW showing that really starts at 10? Does this happen often?

Also, is there an easy way to scroll several days forward to search for programs?

And why isn't 'Foyle's War' listed under Masterpiece for this Sunday?

Is the real issue a screwed up program guide? Is this common?

I'm near Exeter NH where we get the BOSTON Comcast package.

You have the TiVo service? What do you think of it? I was thinking of getting it myself.
I was one of the first to get the Tivo interface when it came out earlier this year. I had it for a few weeks. It's pretty buggy and it hasn't rolled out to the rest of the country yet. I had so many reboots and missed recordings I gave up and got a TivoHD with Cablecard. Hopefully your experience will be better than mine but if you look at Tivocommunity.com you'll see my experience wasn't unique.

Concord, NH.

Also, is there an easy way to scroll several days forward to search for programs?


If you have the silver Comcast remote try using the 'Day +' button, it's one of the A,B,C buttons about a third of the way down the remote.

I was one of the first to get the Tivo interface when it came out earlier this year. I had it for a few weeks. It's pretty buggy and it hasn't rolled out to the rest of the country yet. I had so many reboots and missed recordings I gave up and got a TivoHD with Cablecard. Hopefully your experience will be better than mine but if you look at Tivocommunity.com you'll see my experience wasn't unique.

Concord, NH.

Fortunately it gets better as time goes on and they do software upgrades on the boxes and upgrades on the Tivo server side of things. Keep in mind it has only been out to the public for about 6 months now.

If you have the silver Comcast remote try using the 'Day +' button, it's one of the A,B,C buttons about a third of the way down the remote.

DUH! Thanks! I had to drive to the local office and wait in line because the installer claimed the 'old' silver remote did everything. NOT!

No Day+ and no DRV, etc buttons.

Since the firmware/software update yesterday my DVR (6412 III) is screwing up outputting 1080i - it looks like it is missing a vertical slice of the image on the left hand side, causing the rest of the screen on the right to move over and leaving a wide bright green strip on the right edge. Is anyone else seeing that? need to search around some more...

[edit]
Hmmm, sounds like a bug introduced in update in HDMI handshaking for 1080i HDMI output. Using 720p/480i is OK, using component is OK, using a non-dot-by-dot setting on the TV would hide the green bar. None of these are suitable alternatives for me :( At the rate Comcast fix bugs and update firmware/software I guess I'll have to stare intently at this stupid green bar right up to the point where I switch to FIOS. Except that I need to find out if Verizon are still running the buggy firmware on their boxes or if they've fixed it. sigh.

You have the TiVo service? What do you think of it? I was thinking of getting it myself.

I have one of the older DVR boxes and I have not had the problem many of the people with the newer boxes have. There was a stretch of a few weeks it was doing strange things but now its working perfectly. *knocks on wood*

You have the TiVo service? What do you think of it? I was thinking of getting it myself.

I got it on the first day of availability in my town. I've had no significant problems other than DD5.1 not working. This was fixed in the last update.

Since the firmware/software update yesterday my DVR (6412 III) is screwing up outputting 1080i - it looks like it is missing a vertical slice of the image on the left hand side, causing the rest of the screen on the right to move over and leaving a wide bright green strip on the right edge. Is anyone else seeing that? need to search around some more...

[edit]
Hmmm, sounds like a bug introduced in update in HDMI handshaking for 1080i HDMI output. Using 720p/480i is OK, using component is OK, using a non-dot-by-dot setting on the TV would hide the green bar. None of these are suitable alternatives for me :( At the rate Comcast fix bugs and update firmware/software I guess I'll have to stare intently at this stupid green bar right up to the point where I switch to FIOS. Except that I need to find out if Verizon are still running the buggy firmware on their boxes or if they've fixed it. sigh.

It's fine on my set (DCH box + Pio Kuro plasma). I also use HDMI, output 1080i and dot-by-dot format.

Thanks for the comments. I have been having some random pixelation on my box so if that continues I will just order the TiVo for the free service call.

My HBO HD has been unwatchable. It started late last week. I went to the Comcast office in Brockton and swapped my old style 3416 for the newer style. It was perfect for a few days but it's now back to being unwatchable. A tech is supposed to come by tomorrow - any ideas on what the problem may be? Does this happen to you guys?

My HBO HD has been unwatchable. It started late last week. I went to the Comcast office in Brockton and swapped my old style 3416 for the newer style. It was perfect for a few days but it's now back to being unwatchable. A tech is supposed to come by tomorrow - any ideas on what the problem may be? Does this happen to you guys?

It could be a signal issue. By unwatchable, do you mean a lot of pixelation or something different?

My HBO HD has been unwatchable. It started late last week. I went to the Comcast office in Brockton and swapped my old style 3416 for the newer style. It was perfect for a few days but it's now back to being unwatchable. A tech is supposed to come by tomorrow - any ideas on what the problem may be? Does this happen to you guys?

Had a problem like this when I first switched to Comcast...HBO HD was unwatchable from time to time..very pixilated and stuttering. Turned out to be a problem on the line down the street. Once they came out and fixed that problem its been good.

Yes, pixelation, stutters, - I should have been clearer. I hope they find the problem tomorrow.

Since the firmware/software update yesterday my DVR (6412 III) is screwing up outputting 1080i - it looks like it is missing a vertical slice of the image on the left hand side, causing the rest of the screen on the right to move over and leaving a wide bright green strip on the right edge. Is anyone else seeing that? need to search around some more...

[edit]
Hmmm, sounds like a bug introduced in update in HDMI handshaking for 1080i HDMI output. Using 720p/480i is OK, using component is OK, using a non-dot-by-dot setting on the TV would hide the green bar. None of these are suitable alternatives for me :( At the rate Comcast fix bugs and update firmware/software I guess I'll have to stare intently at this stupid green bar right up to the point where I switch to FIOS. Except that I need to find out if Verizon are still running the buggy firmware on their boxes or if they've fixed it. sigh.

OMG, I have the exact same issue and the same box (well mines only 1 I). I thought I was going crazy for a while. I thought it was related to the new firmware update. If you find a fix or get a response from Comcast please let me know.

Since the firmware/software update yesterday my DVR (6412 III) is screwing up outputting 1080i - it looks like it is missing a vertical slice of the image on the left hand side, causing the rest of the screen on the right to move over and leaving a wide bright green strip on the right edge. Is anyone else seeing that? need to search around some more...

[edit]
Hmmm, sounds like a bug introduced in update in HDMI handshaking for 1080i HDMI output. Using 720p/480i is OK, using component is OK, using a non-dot-by-dot setting on the TV would hide the green bar. None of these are suitable alternatives for me :( At the rate Comcast fix bugs and update firmware/software I guess I'll have to stare intently at this stupid green bar right up to the point where I switch to FIOS. Except that I need to find out if Verizon are still running the buggy firmware on their boxes or if they've fixed it. sigh.

No problems here. DCT + HDMI on the TiVo software though.

Comcast just left. They replaced a splitter that was on the side of my house that was really rusty and replaced a few of the lines around the splitter. After he reset the box the signal was in the 640's (whatever that meant?) which the tech was happy to see. He said he would have run a new line from the pole if the signal didn't increase as much as it did. So far no pixelation or stuttering on the HBO-HD, I just hope it stays that way after a few days.

Customer Service?Read my question again. Your answer is off-target.

I agree with you to a certain extent, but there are many people who can't *afford* to pay $8-9 bucks per month for EACH tv. It is an interesting thing, really. Comcast, because of the political pressure it is subject to, will be left with all the least profitable customers, while Verizon can cherry-pick which customers it wants.

... there is no reason for this charge other than to make money.There is no reason for a for-profit corporation to be in business other than to make money. That's what they're supposed to do.

I'm pleased with my new Comcast HD DVR installation. Geting used to the user interface. I also have a Series 2 TiVo. A bit worried about the TiVo randomly switching cable channels on me to record garbage so I'll shut off that TiVo feature.

Not happy about Comcast voice though. They mistakenly didn't port my phone # and I didn't find that out for a couple days. Finally found out that Comcast 'lost' the port request and just gave me a new outa state #. Then lots of long phone calls to Comcast and FairPoint who took over from Verizon and what? Back into the Fed mandated 5 business day wait for the number to port again. So two weeks while my wife's cottage rental business and all our confused friends can't call us. Hope it works the 2nd time.

Read my question again. Your answer is off-target.

You asked 2 questions. The first was "Why should they?" My response is they should do this in order to provide better customer service. Pre-notification of intended changes would be very welcome for many customers. I am sure there would be some issues, but I do think it would be possible for them to do it. In addition, better customer service might lead to more satisfied customers, higher retention and higher profits. Early notification is not an issue that by itself would make people leave, but it is part of a pattern of lack of quality customer service. I do not believe that quality customer service and profits are mutual exclusive.

I am sure there would be some issues, but I do think it would be possible for them to do it. In addition, better customer service might lead to more satisfied customers, higher retention and higher profits.You're just guessing though. Most companies have a very firm understanding of the value provided to their owners for every bit of expense they incur. Figure that if they're not providing something, it is because it is more expensive to provide than it is worth, in terms of the things you mentioned.

So I called comcast yesterday to inquire about the possible HD channel additions that have been rumored to be available as early as July 15; as they move some channels from analog to digital. The CSR had NO information at all if/when any new HD channels are being added. Now she did check for new additions in my area(Southeast MA) and I know some areas of the state may get them first. I am assuming that CSR's would have some idea what is/is not coming especially when we are few days from the supposed move.
She went on to tell me the same information that can be found on comcastdigitalworld website regarding what channels are moving. I politely stated, "yes, I know that". Well in any case, CSR had no specific details regarding new HD additions, so I guess we can continue the speculation.

I am assuming that CSR's would have some idea what is/is not coming especially when we are few days from the supposed move.I think that that is a bad assumption. The CSRs will learn about such things just about the time the information becomes public, not before.

She went on to tell me the same information that can be found on comcastdigitalworld website regarding what channels are moving. I politely stated, "yes, I know that".I suspect her point was that that specific information you're asking for is information that she wouldn't have any special access to in advance.

I think that that is a bad assumption. The CSRs will learn about such things just about the time the information becomes public, not before.

I suspect her point was that that specific information you're asking for is information that she wouldn't have any special access to in advance.

To the latter statement; I guess not!:o

You're just guessing though. Most companies have a very firm understanding of the value provided to their owners for every bit of expense they incur. Figure that if they're not providing something, it is because it is more expensive to provide than it is worth, in terms of the things you mentioned.

You are correct that I have no direct knowledge of Comcast's decision making process on this issue. But, after many years in market research in both consumer and commercial product areas my experience is that more often than not a company's commitment to quality customer service comes from a core belief of senior management rather than from a statistically significantly study of all the issues and costs involved. In some cases that belief is that any money spent on customer service is good. In other cases, it is that cutting cost is more important than high quaility customer service. But it is extremely difficult (and expensive) to actually quanitate how actions such as pre-releasing data have on the profit figure. Unless you have an inside view into Comcast's decision processes, I suggest you are also guessing what is driving their decision. I do wish they would spend a few of my dollars learning to be more customer friendly.

Question: Why does my new Comcast HD DVR keep geting into a mode where the next days' listings are "to Be Announced"? What's happnin with the guide? Typical or a problem?

Typical, when there's a power outage, even for a split second.
Will take 24 hours or more for the Guide to repopulate. It sucks.
Another reason to spend the $ for a TiVO.

Typical, when there's a power outage, even for a split second.
Will take 24 hours or more for the Guide to repopulate. It sucks.
Another reason to spend the $ for a TiVO.

Major Bummer!
Yah, the antiquated TiVo's guide is still there while Comcast's Guide is out to lunch. Pretty pathetic, given the years between design implementations.

Another reason to spend the $ for a TiVO.

Or a cheap UPS.

But, after many years in market research in both consumer and commercial product areas my experience is that more often than not a company's commitment to quality customer service comes from a core belief of senior management rather than from a statistically significantly study of all the issues and costs involved.I spent a career peddling what we thought were good ideas, like "Quality is Free". I got out when the research started showing we were wrong. Blind faith in the idea that doing something "just simply has got to" be the right thing to do for the business is naive and often destructive to the enterprise.

...In addition, better customer service might lead to more satisfied customers, higher retention and higher profits. Early notification is not an issue that by itself would make people leave, but it is part of a pattern of lack of quality customer service. I do not believe that quality customer service and profits are mutual exclusive.
(Not to sound too much like Bicker, but…) Unfortunately, Comcast is a public company, and as such, Comcast management has a fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders that translates into a never-ending quest for higher profits (which has the aroma of greed).

Idealistically, we search for that perfect HD provider that can offer fantastic customer service, all available HD channels, on-demand, internet, and phone, all at bargain basement prices. Sadly, that company does not exist today. But on the other hand, we should never stop demanding better products, services and prices.

Mickey

Typical, when there's a power outage, even for a split second.
Will take 24 hours or more for the Guide to repopulate. It sucks.
Another reason to spend the $ for a TiVO.

No way it's 24 hours. It was less than an hour in my case. :confused:

(Not to sound too much like Bicker, but…) Unfortunately, Comcast is a public company, and as such, Comcast management has a fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders that translates into a never-ending quest for higher profits (which has the aroma of greed).

Idealistically, we search for that perfect HD provider that can offer fantastic customer service, all available HD channels, on-demand, internet, and phone, all at bargain basement prices. Sadly, that company does not exist today. But on the other hand, we should never stop demanding better products, services and prices.

Mickey

Not only does that company not exist today, unfortunately it sometimes seems we are moving in the other direction, not just for cable but in a lots of areas - especially when it comes to customer service.

Before we solve the issues of profit and loss for major companies, lets look back at the original issue - could Comcast provide some advance notice of when it was going to add HD stations. Sometimes little things like this are worth it for customer satisfaction, somethings they are not. Maybe they could add it to the commentary on the bill like they do with other changes. Maybe they could send a message to our cable boxes (like they do to announce wrestling!) My guess is they could do something like this without much, if any, cost - its only a few channels a couple of times a year. Probably could be handled by existing personnel and processes. I bet if some middle level manager were given this task, it could be done. Could be wrong, of course.

Now onto profit and loss for major companies. I have no issue with searching for higher profits (did it most of my working career). One part of increasing profits is to retain and attract customers. One way to lower profits is to lose customers and poor customer service is one way to do that. Sometimes you need to spend a little to make more profits. It is a balancing act. I completely understand cutting excess cost. The balance is to figure out what are excess and what are necessary to maintain and grow the business. Comcast is an interting position since in many cases the switching costs to move to an alternative can be high (e.g. they have a monopoly on cable service in many areas and satellite service also has issues) Companies with products with high switching cost can get away with mediocre customer service (e.g. Microsoft). But as it becomes easier to switch to a competitor, then customer service and price can become critical. It will be interesting to see how Comcast handles that situation over time. My guess is not well, but I am not sure Verizon is much better. So, no perfect HD provider for while, unfortunately.

Not only does that company not exist today, unfortunately it sometimes seems we are moving in the other direction, not just for cable but in a lots of areas - especially when it comes to customer service.

Before we solve the issues of profit and loss for major companies, lets look back at the original issue - could Comcast provide some advance notice of when it was going to add HD stations. Sometimes little things like this are worth it for customer satisfaction, somethings they are not. Maybe they could add it to the commentary on the bill like they do with other changes. Maybe they could send a message to our cable boxes (like they do to announce wrestling!) My guess is they could do something like this without much, if any, cost - its only a few channels a couple of times a year. Probably could be handled by existing personnel and processes. I bet if some middle level manager were given this task, it could be done. Could be wrong, of course.

Now onto profit and loss for major companies. I have no issue with searching for higher profits (did it most of my working career). One part of increasing profits is to retain and attract customers. One way to lower profits is to lose customers and poor customer service is one way to do that. Sometimes you need to spend a little to make more profits. It is a balancing act. I completely understand cutting excess cost. The balance is to figure out what are excess and what are necessary to maintain and grow the business. Comcast is an interting position since in many cases the switching costs to move to an alternative can be high (e.g. they have a monopoly on cable service in many areas and satellite service also has issues) Companies with products with high switching cost can get away with mediocre customer service (e.g. Microsoft). But as it becomes easier to switch to a competitor, then customer service and price can become critical. It will be interesting to see how Comcast handles that situation over time. My guess is not well, but I am not sure Verizon is much better. So, no perfect HD provider for while, unfortunately.
I agree with most of what you are saying.

Advance notice? They could, but I am guessing it might be complicated by the fact that different head-ends are offering different channels at different time frames, and it might be difficult to tailor notices to these mini-geographies. (Case in point, the different HD lineup in the City of Boston versus the burbs.)

Competition? Verizon (in our area) could pose a competitive threat to otherwise embedded/franchised cable operators. But Verizon also has a checkered past when it comes to customer service. And Fios pricing isn’t nearly as low as would be needed to cause a large number of Comcasters to defect. Maybe someday.

Mickey

No way it's 24 hours. It was less than an hour in my case. :confused:

You'll start to see it re-populate fairly quickly, but it can take many hours to get the full guide data for the coming weeks for all channels.

Good afternoon...having an issue with my dct 3412 tivo box. In the past..before this last update, every so often the to do list was empty and I would go into season pass manager and edit the last entry and it would repopulate and the world would go on eventually. Last night I was watching tv on that box and it was nearing 11:25 when I know its supposed to start recording one of the sunday night sport shows. I went to to do list and it was empty...except for shows that weren't season passes..I manually set it to record one off events. I was able to manually start recording both shows last night and it was fine. In the past the dvr wouldn't allow me to manually record anything so something has changed. Anyone know how I can get my season passes back?

Thanks

$12.95 for a second HD box thats highway robbery. I think I am going to look into Direct TV, I would go with Fios but not in my city yet.

So can we expect those channels to move to digital tonight at midnight?

Competition? Verizon (in our area) could pose a competitive threat to otherwise embedded/franchised cable operators. But Verizon also has a checkered past when it comes to customer service. And Fios pricing isn’t nearly as low as would be needed to cause a large number of Comcasters to defect. Maybe someday.Expect that, by the time Verizon has anywhere near a respectable market share, they'll provide the same level of customer service as the incumbent cable provider in each area. The service the legacy carriers provide is a reflection of what customers are willing to reward them for, and when building market share finally takes a back-seat to profit, that reflection will almost surely impose itself on the service provided.

You'll start to see it re-populate fairly quickly, but it can take many hours to get the full guide data for the coming weeks for all channels.

That is my experience

A little OT, but I'm sort of stuck- Does anyone know of any reputable PC repair places in the MA Metro-west area? I have a homebuilt system that's a bitch to setup and I've spent well over 1mos on it and I've pretty much given up all hope that I'll get going by myself (and yes, I'm pretty knowledgable about setting up homebuilts too, which makes this even more frustrasting).

So if anyone knows of places that won't charge an arm and a leg to trouble-shoot (please don't say GeekSquad), pleae PM me. Or even better, if you're really knowledgable (although I don't think you're going to be able to solve this one either) and want to come over and help me get it going, you're welcome to rummage through my extras pile (videocards, motherboards, PS, etc), or I'll take you out for a meal, etc, ec.

Well its midnight and the channels did move. Not in the guide, but they no longer work. Mojo has been unauthorized for the past 20 mins, but as I type this, just came back.

NADA in Lawrence. also the analog channels 2-23 look like crap.

OTOH Fios is just 6 days away!

Well its midnight and the channels did move. Not in the guide, but they no longer work. Mojo has been unauthorized for the past 20 mins, but as I type this, just came back.

Well in Manchester, NH this morning I was able to watch MSNBC on channel 40 still. I didn't have time to see if any of the other channels moved, but MSNBC appears to have not moved yet.

Expect that, by the time Verizon has anywhere near a respectable market share, they'll provide the same level of customer service as the incumbent cable provider in each area. The service the legacy carriers provide is a reflection of what customers are willing to reward them for, and when building market share finally takes a back-seat to profit, that reflection will almost surely impose itself on the service provided.

Customer service is needed to retain, attract, and appease customers. In marketplaces where you don't have competition, customer service takes a back seat. But when there is competition, customer service is a differentiating point between providers. Not the only differentiation point of course, but one of many. Good or bad customer service will indirectly affect the profits of companies. To see it as only a cost is short-sited. It's amazing how much the "voice of the customer" has caught on over the last few years. Every receipt seems to have surveys attached and such. Most call centers have surveys that are done to determine how they are doing and improve. Companies act on these surveys to keep their customers happy. This is all to improve market share and increase profits in the long run.

Well in Manchester, NH this morning I was able to watch MSNBC on channel 40 still. I didn't have time to see if any of the other channels moved, but MSNBC appears to have not moved yet.

No channel changes in Manchester:

CN8,TruTV,MSNBC,EWTN/INSP,Hallmark,PIN are all on their original designated channel.

No channel changes in Manchester:

CN8,TruTV,MSNBC,EWTN/INSP,Hallmark,PIN are all on their original designated channel.

Same here in Milford, NH.. all channels the same, no changes yet. We were only having CN8, MSNBC, TruTV, Oxygen and EWTN moved.

In all fairness, www.comcastdigitalworld.com does state: Between July 15th and July 17th 2008

-t

Customer service is needed to retain, attract, and appease customers. In marketplaces where you don't have competition, customer service takes a back seat. But when there is competition, customer service is a differentiating point between providers. Not the only differentiation point of course, but one of many. Good or bad customer service will indirectly affect the profits of companies. To see it as only a cost is short-sited. It's amazing how much the "voice of the customer" has caught on over the last few years. Every receipt seems to have surveys attached and such. Most call centers have surveys that are done to determine how they are doing and improve. Companies act on these surveys to keep their customers happy. This is all to improve market share and increase profits in the long run.
I wish I lived in this world you write about. Great customer service is an ideal, and can be a differentiator in certain situations, but by-and-large, it is not the main determining factor when purchases/acquisitions are made. There are many examples: #1 retail chain is Walmart with dreadful CS; for many businesses, automated call centers have replaced humans lowering the CS bar further; outsourcing CS to far away lands/planets where people make 50 cents/hour (yet seem overpaid); and do-it-yourself and self-service replacing human intervention in many businesses (gas stations, drive-thru windows, big box stores, etc.). Instead, the factors that drive purchase decisions seem to be: price, product line, speed, quality/reliability and availability. I would place CS after those. Maybe I’m wrong, but if I’m right, why should companies spend extra money on better CS?

Mickey

I went back a few pages and didn't see anybody commenting on this, so sorry if it's already been addressed.

So... I went to make an online payment this morning expecting to see the $20 discount I was informed about regarding the "Club Comcast" via snail mail last month. I didn't see it, so I decided to give them a call. I was informed that the discount would not take effect until my package expired.:confused: I just signed up for another year of the Premier package 2 months ago. So, I guess next year, I won't sign up for another package so that I can get my $20 discount....... Wait, then I would be paying more than I am now even if they did give me the $20 discount:rolleyes:. I call BS!!! What did they even bother sending me the notice for?

In Watertown, only 56 (the religious networks) has changed, but it is currently displaying a message directing people to go to comcastdigitalworld.com, so I don't suppose the bandwidth has been freed up yet.

Error! Error! Error! For well over 12hrs now I have lost almost all my HD channels with the exception of my locals and NGEO-HD. My first call early this morning came with the standard CSR repsonse that I didn't qualify for any of those other HD channels with the Digital Classic package, that's why I didn't have them. After speaking with a supervisor he said it must be my box so they sent a refresh and it still didn't work and scheduled an exhchange.

Now I call up and I get a prerecorded message saying there is a service problem in my area and they're working on it. Figures...:rolleyes:

Customer service is needed to retain, attract, and appease customers. In marketplaces where you don't have competition, customer service takes a back seat. But when there is competition, customer service is a differentiating point between providers.Customers are now putting price so far above quality, as a factor in purchasing decisions, that that is increasingly becoming no longer the case.

In Watertown, only 56 (the religious networks) has changed, but it is currently displaying a message directing people to go to comcastdigitalworld.com, so I don't suppose the bandwidth has been freed up yet.

Here on the South Shore, the channel moving to digital message is displayed on channels 3 (CN8), 8 (PIN), and 96 (PIN duplicate). The analog channels 27 (TruTV), 56 (Religious), and 67 (MSNBC) have vanished.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3264/2672066219_69bd8b1640.jpg

It's close to 24hrs now and I still do not have TNT-HD, UHD, ESPN-HD or MOJO. All say I am not verified. I guess if I don't get it back by tommorow I'll have to bring my box in to ge swapped out.

Still nothing in Lawrence (like I really care)

3,27,40,53,and 56 still on.

No 186,188,234,or 251 either

Same here in Milford, NH.. all channels the same, no changes yet. We were only having CN8, MSNBC, TruTV, Oxygen and EWTN moved.

In all fairness, www.comcastdigitalworld.com does state: Between July 15th and July 17th 2008

-t

Still nothing has changed here in Milford, NH... same old same old..

Didn't notice any changes in Manchester either this morning.

The South Shore has CN8 on 188, TruTV on 186, and MSNBC on 251 as of last night. Nothing new as far as HD channels go.

Oh ****! It appears to be true! The Digital Classic package no longer comes with any HD channels except NGeo-HD. I lost MOJO, TNT-HD, UHD, ESPN, etc, and the CSR said in order to get them back I have pay $54 more!!!! So I said, you mean, "You raised my fees and got rid of almost all my HD channels?", he then said, yeah, but then you'll be geting all these new channels etc etc. I then told him to go screw himself and said I'll be switching to FIOS when they're available.

This is the last straw. Take away all my HD channels and leave me with just National-Geo HD? **** you Comcast, Hello FIOS.

Oh ****! It appears to be true! The Digital Classic package no longer comes with any HD channels except NGeo-HD. I lost MOJO, TNT-HD, UHD, ESPN, etc, and the CSR said in order to get them back I have pay $54 more!!!! So I said, you mean, "You raised my fees and got rid of almost all my HD channels?", he then said, yeah, but then you'll be geting all these new channels etc etc. I then told him to go screw himself and said I'll be switching to FIOS when they're available.

This is the last straw. Take away all my HD channels and leave me with just National-Geo HD? **** you Comcast, Hello FIOS.

You got to be kidding me!!! :mad: Is this through out Mass?

You got to be kidding me!!! :mad: Is this through out Mass?Either that or they're totally clueless. So far 2 CSR's have told me the same thing. When I told him I spoke to a supervisor who said this was not the case he said, "I'm sorry if you spoke to someone who gave you wrong information, but you need to spend $54 to get the whole package".

When I mentioned the only paperwork I got was that Starz SD stuff and National-GeoHD was moving to Digital Classic and we weren't LOSING anything, he told me I was wrong. But so far it's been well over 24hrs and I still don't have those channels back...

I have Standard Cable + Digital Classic and get all HD channels (for now and hopefully for ever), is this what you have? What package do they want you to buy that adds the channels you lost?

I hope is just misinformation because am going to be very, very, very angry if this happens to me. I pay $120 per month (cable+internet) and there is not way I'm going to pay more.

Oh ****! It appears to be true! The Digital Classic package no longer comes with any HD channels except NGeo-HD. I lost MOJO, TNT-HD, UHD, ESPN, etc, and the CSR said in order to get them back I have pay $54 more!!!! So I said, you mean, "You raised my fees and got rid of almost all my HD channels?", he then said, yeah, but then you'll be geting all these new channels etc etc. I then told him to go screw himself and said I'll be switching to FIOS when they're available.

This is the last straw. Take away all my HD channels and leave me with just National-Geo HD? **** you Comcast, Hello FIOS.


What service are you paying for?

I have Basic Cable which costs around $8 and then I have Digital Classic which they just upped to ~$12 or so (I think), the HD-DVR, etc. I was essentially getting all the HD locals, and with Digital Classic I was getting TNT-HD, DISC-TR, UHD, ESPN-HD, MOJO. Now the only HD channel I get with Digital Classic is NGEO-HD and they claim all the others have migrated to the "Expanded" package and if I want them back I have to pay $54 more. Screw em! FIOS can't come soon enough.

Ok that makes more sense. Basic + Digital Classic won't give you all HD channels which is what happened to me when they added Universal HD and ESPN2 so I upgraded to Standard or Expanded Basic to get all HD. At least in my area is the way it has always been.

I can't wait for Fios, even if ends up costing me the same.

Going forward to get the HD equivalent you will need to get package the SD version of the channel is in. If there is no SD version it will be either Digital Starter or another Digital package.

Fios for me looks like 5 days away. :)

Here in Lawrence 53 analog is off. The other channels are still on and on the Digital box Hallmark still maps to 53 as well as 208.

For me the permanant home for Hallmark will be 240!

FIOS
In a brilliant tax revenue move NH pols effectively chased Verizon outa NH. I'd guess that the odds of us ever geting a FIOS equivalent from FairPoint are pretty slim. No real competition for Comcast.

Going forward to get the HD equivalent you will need to get package the SD version of the channel is in. If there is no SD version it will be either Digital Starter or another Digital package.You are incorrect, or at least have been for years. For most of the NE region as long as you had Basic Cable you could get those few HD channels I mentioned (DiscHD-TH, UHD, ESPN-HD, TNT-HD, MOJO) along with the Digital Classic tier (~$8). I had that lineup (along with many others on the forum) for almost the last decade.

To spend $54 more just for me to get those channels back is a waste of money, because I only watch the HD channels anyways... So, luckily, FIOS is wiring up my condo complex and they should be done soon, and they have an all encompassing HD package that cost less than Comcast does, and they don't try to screw you out of stuff (like quietly take away all your services while raising your rates).

FIOS
In a brilliant tax revenue move NH pols effectively chased Verizon outa NH. I'd guess that the odds of us ever geting a FIOS equivalent from FairPoint are pretty slim. No real competition for Comcast.

Sadly I know what you mean. No hope for us at all in NH of getting any competition to Comcast.

You are incorrect, or at least have been for years. For most of the NE region as long as you had Basic Cable you could get those few HD channels I mentioned (DiscHD-TH, UHD, ESPN-HD, TNT-HD, MOJO) along with the Digital Classic tier (~$8). I had that lineup (along with many others on the forum) for almost the last decade.

To spend $54 more just for me to get those channels back is a waste of money, because I only watch the HD channels anyways... So, luckily, FIOS is wiring up my condo complex and they should be done soon, and they have an all encompassing HD package that cost less than Comcast does, and they don't try to screw you out of stuff (like quietly take away all your services while raising your rates).

I never said you were wrong.

I said GOING FORWARD what the change will be, not what it was in the past. I know quite well what you were able to get up until this week.

I have Basic Cable which costs around $8 and then I have Digital Classic which they just upped to ~$12 or so (I think), the HD-DVR, etc. I was essentially getting all the HD locals, and with Digital Classic I was getting TNT-HD, DISC-TR, UHD, ESPN-HD, MOJO. ...

Screw em! FIOS can't come soon enough.

Could you point me to a FIOS package that includes all those HD channels and costs about $20 ($8 + $12, I guess)?

Could you point me to a FIOS package that includes all those HD channels and costs about $20 ($8 + $12, I guess)?I never said they offer anything of the sort, but they do offer competitve packages to Comcast (with less compression) for a few dollars less. Frankly, after being screwed by Comcast today, with me losing almost all of my HD channels without a peep, I'd gladly give my buisness to FIOS as soon as it's available.

I never said they offer anything of the sort, but they do offer competitve packages to Comcast (with less compression) for a few dollars less. Frankly, after being screwed by Comcast today, with me losing almost all of my HD channels without a peep, I'd gladly give my buisness to FIOS as soon as it's available.

Dave,

You've been on this board long enough to know that you were LUCKY to still get those channels due to a Comcast over sight. I am not the biggest fan of Comcast but you are wrong on this occasion.

-Ken

Dave,

You've been on this board long enough to know that you were LUCKY to still get those channels due to a Comcast over sight. I am not the biggest fan of Comcast but you are wrong on this occasion.

-KenSorry, no, I am not wrong. I even spoke to a supervisor who told me that the Digital Classic HD package was valid in my region up until yesterday. It was never a secret to Comcast as to what I was getting, it was a well known channel tier to many of those in the forum over the years (depending upon where you lived). As you know with Comcast these things can vary from region to region, town to town, etc.

I just dislike the fact that I was not notified that my package would be changing substantially, other than gaining some channels. So my price for Digital Classic actually got hiked all the way up to $12 and they eliminated those HD channels and gave me just NGEO-HD instead, which makes the service totally worthless to me.

Sorry, no, I am not wrong. I even spoke to a supervisor who told me that the Digital Classic HD package was valid in my region up until yesterday. It was never a secret to Comcast as to what I was getting, it was a well known channel tier to many of those in the forum over the years (depending upon where you lived). As you know with Comcast these things can vary from region to region, town to town, etc.

I just dislike the fact that I was not notified that my package would be changing substantially, other than gaining some channels. So my price for Digital Classic actually got hiked all the way up to $12 and they eliminated those HD channels and gave me just NGEO-HD instead, which makes the service totally worthless to me.

Comcast did provide notice of the HDs moving to the same package as their SD counterpart. I believe it was the same time we received notification of the analog migrations. I'm surprised it lasted this long... essentially able to get the HD version of a channel that other customers have to pay extra to get in SD/Analog.

To be fair, Comcast did inform me of the lineup changes two months ago. I'm not saying I agree with what they are doing, just that they did give fair notice.
Here is a copy of page 3 of my May statement.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3056/2675104005_6eb65c6d2f_o.jpg

Yikes! A lot of people seem to be jumping ship here. Don't understand the reasons why because I still believe Comcast has more HD channels and the price is still competitive. Yes they might be a bit more compressed right now but that will change with the transistion to all digital. Good luck to some long time members here in this thread but I have a feeling you will be back, Comcast has a way of doing that because I once said the same thing.

Wally, I did not get that notification. If you go way back in the thread, you can see the only thing Comcast made mention to me in my statement was that the price of the Digital Classic package would be going up and that NGEO-HD would now be included as part of that tier. They made absolutely no notice to me in print that I would be losing any channels at all.

Well, they know FIOS will soon be available in my area, so I'm sure they will be throwing the deals at me when the time is right (they already had an ice-cream social for my condo complex) but after this that still won't be enough. I'd rather have the better signal quality of FIOS and quite possibly one of their higher bandwidth internet tiers. 20/20 sounds pretty cool if I can get a deal on it.;)

A part of me is semi regretting ordering where I did. It seems I may have missed out on nearly $200 worth that I would have had had I ordered online.

I don't believe it is reasonable to expect to get HD channels included in a price that you wouldn't get the corresponding SD channels for. The $54 for "standard cable" is a reasonable charge for the channels included in that package. To expect to get some of them for free, just because you have an HD receiver, and because for a while they provided them for free, is unreasonable IMHO.

As others have pointed out, FiOS didn't offer those channels for anywhere near $20 or so. While their packages are a few dollars cheaper, today, as soon as they have decent market share, you can expect the Verizon marketing department to remedy that disparity, and they'll charge as much (if not more) than the legacy MSO. As it is, despite the fact that they strung the fiber past our home in August 2006, they still refuse to offer us service, preferring to connect-up people living in more affluent parts of town instead. Just because FiOS is coming to your town doesn't mean they'll offer it to you: They are not required to offer it to everyone in town, like the legacy MSO is.

To be fair, Comcast did inform me of the lineup changes two months ago. I'm not saying I agree with what they are doing, just that they did give fair notice.
Here is a copy of page 3 of my May statement.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3056/2675104005_6eb65c6d2f_o.jpg

Are all the channels in Digital Starter included in Digital Classic?

Wally, I did not get that notification. If you go way back in the thread, you can see the only thing Comcast made mention to me in my statement was that the price of the Digital Classic package would be going up and that NGEO-HD would now be included as part of that tier. They made absolutely no notice to me in print that I would be losing any channels at all.

Well, they know FIOS will soon be available in my area, so I'm sure they will be throwing the deals at me when the time is right (they already had an ice-cream social for my condo complex) but after this that still won't be enough. I'd rather have the better signal quality of FIOS and quite possibly one of their higher bandwidth internet tiers. 20/20 sounds pretty cool if I can get a deal on it.;)

Notifications went out on the billing statements. So if you are someone like myself who goes paperless, that I can understand why you did not see the change coming. But this move is something that should have happened along time ago back when NESN-HD was launched in expanded and everyone was in an uproar because they needed expanded as well as basic and digital classic to get all the HD channels. It is also less confusing for HD newbies who wonder why they did not have ESPN-HD when they have ESPN. Comcast also does not believe in having HD in a seperate package like some other cable providers and your rates are not jacked up every time new HD stations are launched. So all things, considered Comcast has been very fair to early adopters of HD but now Joe Six pack has caught up and is confused. So with all the changes happening before the end of July, this is perfect timing.

When you think about it
, HD is not ready for the masses. Joe six pack wll not understand that the beginning of his game is not in HD due to lack of satellite transponders, or that during the switch back and forth to commercials that everything looks kinda hodge podge. HD is really still pretty messy.

The analog channels changeovers finally happened in Lawrence.
However on the box they are still in thier old positions as well as the new ones. (Tru TV is on 27 AND 186)

same here, channels are in BOTH spots now

Has anyone been able to find the channels moved to digital from analog on their QAM tuner? or are the encripted? My wife is bull she can't get Tru TV on our bedroom TV any longer and I did a scan of digital channels and it did not show up.

South of Brockton, MSNBC on 27 and 251; TruTV on 69 and 186; CN8 on 3 and 188; EWTN on 56 and 238 ;INSP on 83 and 234. These are with Digital boxes NOT direct analog connect. Are the feeds gone using direct analog connect. IF not, no room for new HDs.

Has anyone been able to find the channels moved to digital from analog on their QAM tuner? or are the encripted? My wife is bull she can't get Tru TV on our bedroom TV any longer and I did a scan of digital channels and it did not show up.

Those channels that were previously Expanded Basic channels (TruTV being one of them) require a digital box since they are encrypted. Where NECN and CN8 migrated, they should be in the clear for a QAM Tuner TV since they were Standard Basic channels.

Those getting digital service have been getting an all digital service with comcast for a few years now.
The mapping of CN8 to 3 and 188 is the same feed,and yes it is still unencrypted. (I still get it on 82-6)

OTOH I won't be with comcast much longer (the BIG switch to FIOS is Monday!)

OTOH I won't be with comcast much longer (the BIG switch to FIOS is Monday!)

We heard you the first 20 times.

I don't believe it is reasonable to expect to get HD channels included in a price that you wouldn't get the corresponding SD channels for. The $54 for "standard cable" is a reasonable charge for the channels included in that package. To expect to get some of them for free, just because you have an HD receiver, and because for a while they provided them for free, is unreasonable IMHO.

Yeah that never really made any sense to me about what HD channels were in what packages. It was really just a matter of time until that was adjusted/corrected.

Are all the channels in Digital Starter included in Digital Classic?

No. Digital starter is Basic + Expanded + a digital box. Classic is just an add-on package of channels that just requires you to have Basic and a digital box.

Supposedly there is an MLB Extra Innings preview from the 17th to the 23rd. Anyone able to watch? I get the not authorized message.

Notifications went out on the billing statements. So if you are someone like myself who goes paperless, that I can understand why you did not see the change coming.Uh, not really: The notifications went out on the paperless bills as well.

No. Digital starter is Basic + Expanded + a digital box. Classic is just an add-on package of channels that just requires you to have Basic and a digital box.

I think they may be phasing that out (I have had Digital Platinum withOUT extended basic at one time)

They can require one to get Digital starter in order to get Digital Classic.

The only things they HAVE to offer a-la-carte are the Premium channels.

If you get HBO they have to give you all 8 channels.

We heard you the first 20 times.

Careful. He's been a reliable source for quite a while now. I, for one will miss him when he's gone.

Good luck brutha'. I hope the grass is indeed greener on the other side, and not just different grass.

Just disconnected the HD box as I do not intend on watching Friday (Picnic to go to followed by work) and Saturday morning I intend to return the HD box to Comcast.

I was going to also disconnect the Cable/phone modem but Verizon recommended that I keep that until the installation. (I will have to make a second trip afterwards)

Now to clear off my desk (which has my PC and the second set) :)

Here in Billerica, I can still see CN8/TruTV/MSNBC/etc on their old (3/40/53/etc) channels, but they are also showing up on their new (188/186/251/etc) channels. Has the switchover not been completed yet, or is it just invisibly "re-mapping" since I have a digital box?

I currently subscribe to Digital Starter + Digital Classic, but I have no need for Classic since I'm only paying for it to get a few HD channels that are moving to Starter. Did these HD channels switch packages on the 15th, or is it possibly still not complete yet? I don't want to cancel Classic and lose ESPN-HD if the move didn't happen on the 15th like my bill says.

Good luck brutha'. I hope the grass is indeed greener on the other side, and not just different grass.I watch the other thread. I cannot wait to see his posts turn from glowing to glaring, there. :D

I've only checked MSNBC. On my TiVo S3, it is gone from 53 and not showing up on 251. Hmph. I really don't care enough about any of those channels to have anyone potentially mess up my service trying to fix it.

Uh, not really: The notifications went out on the paperless bills as well.

I never said they didn't. I did not see the notification of the change but then again, I do not watch any of those analog channels. I focus on HD channels. Does anyone know if ESPN-HD is not in expanded?

I had good things to say about Comcast too. :)

Anyways a friend has Fios but only TV and phone. The internet will prove interesting :)

I had good things to say about Comcast too. :)

Anyways a friend has Fios but only TV and phone. The internet will prove interesting :)

chitchatjf, you have been so pumped up about your switch to FIOS that it almost guarantees at least a mild letdown. I wish you soft landing. :)

chitchatjf, you have been so pumped up about your switch to FIOS that it almost guarantees at least a mild letdown. I wish you soft landing. :)
As long as he gets his blessed “H” channels, there will be no letdown. We can only wish that he does for/to the local Fios community what he did for/to us. Via con dios.

Mickey

I had good things to say about Comcast too. :)

Anyways a friend has Fios but only TV and phone. The internet will prove interesting :)

chitchat did you have to trade in the crystal ball too or are they letting you keep the old one. :D

Check in with us and give us some pros and cons between the two services when your connected.

Careful. He's been a reliable source for quite a while now. I, for one will miss him when he's gone.

Good luck brutha'. I hope the grass is indeed greener on the other side, and not just different grass.

Well, I don't think there's anything to be "careful" about, he's gone.

Anyway, sorry chitchat, bad day at work yesterday and I was irritable. Plus I'm annoyed with Verizon as they lied to me about FIOS availability last winter.

Well, I don't think there's anything to be "careful" about, he's gone.

Anyway, sorry chitchat, bad day at work yesterday and I was irritable. Plus I'm annoyed with Verizon as they lied to me about FIOS availability last winter.

How do you think the people of Nashua feels?

"We are going to wire you for FIOS."

three months later

"Welcome to Fairpoint!"

Well, I don't think there's anything to be "careful" about, he's gone.

Anyway, sorry chitchat, bad day at work yesterday and I was irritable. Plus I'm annoyed with Verizon as they lied to me about FIOS availability last winter.

That is OK. My concern are the specials I am supposed to get.

I was told I would get the best special available. That seems to be one month free internet one month free Premiere TV ($47.99) an EXTRA $10 off of Phone for one year,three free months of the Movie package (Starz/Showtime/Encore)
and four FREE PPV movies (MAY be HD)

Time will tell. :)

As long as he gets his blessed “H” channels, there will be no letdown. We can only wish that he does for/to the local Fios community what he did for/to us. Via con dios.

Mickey

That is my intention. :)

Does anyone know when Comcast will finish pushing out the new i-Guide software? My friend in Winchendon now has it, but in Wayland, we don't.

Comcast what a great company. First, I stop at the local office to get the free digital box offer and I tell the CSR that I am not receiving the moved digital channels. I have expanded basic with HD DVR. The CSR refreshes the box at home and said I should get the moved channels. I get home and no channels so I call and the CSR connects me to Tech. support. I tell him the story and he looks over the account come to find out you need the Digital Starter package, the local CSR didn't know this NICE!!!
Just now I go and check my recent activity on the web site now I find out that I was paying $16.95 for the HD DVR box because I had expanded basic. It's $4.00 cheaper with the Digital Starter package. I was paying that since last August just great. The Digital Starter and expanded are the same price.

Just now I go and check my recent activity on the web site now I find out that I was paying $16.95 for the HD DVR box because I had expanded basic. It's $4.00 cheaper with the Digital Starter package. I was paying that since last August just great. The Digital Starter and expanded are the same price.
Digital Starter is $3.95 more than Standard Cable. The only thing you missed out on are a couple of channels.

Comcast what a great company. First, I stop at the local office to get the free digital box offer and I tell the CSR that I am not receiving the moved digital channels. I have expanded basic with HD DVR. The CSR refreshes the box at home and said I should get the moved channels. I get home and no channels so I call and the CSR connects me to Tech. support. I tell him the story and he looks over the account come to find out you need the Digital Starter package, the local CSR didn't know this NICE!!!
Just now I go and check my recent activity on the web site now I find out that I was paying $16.95 for the HD DVR box because I had expanded basic. It's $4.00 cheaper with the Digital Starter package. I was paying that since last August just great. The Digital Starter and expanded are the same price.

Thank you for reminding me another one of what looks like many reasons why I am headed over to Fios. :)

Last updated Comcast HD chart
-----------------------------------------------------
802 WGBH HD (PBS HD)
804 WBZ-DT Boston (CBS-HD)
805 WCVB-DT Boston (ABC-HD)
807 WHDH-DT Boston (NBC-HD)
809 WMUR-DT Manchester (ABC-HD)
821 National Geo
823 Discovery HD
825 WFXT-DT Boston (Fox-HD)
828 MHD
831 TBS HD
832 HGTV HD
833 TNT HD
835 USA HD
837 AnE HD
838 WSBK-DT Boston
839 HD Theatre
842 CNN HD
846 Universal HD
848 Versus /Golf HD
849 ESPN HD
850 ESPN 2 HD
851 NESN HD
852 Comcast Sportsnet NE HD
853 NFL Network HD
854 Food HD
856 WLVI-DT Boston (CW-HD)
857 Science channel HD
862 SciFi channel HD
863 Animal Planet HD
868 Cinemax HD
870 HBO HD
872 History HD
875 Starz HD
877 Showtime HD
881 Mojo

Digital Starter required for all channels except those in other tiers (Premium/locals/National Geo/NFL)

chitchat, I am sure youll see the adds in the coming months when you visit our forum. A co-worker of mine tried RCN than switched to FIOS and glad he did.Hope my town will have FIOS one day. Got a good deal from Cpmcast when added Comcast Digital Voice from Verizon phone sevice. But my year promo fee will be up sooner than I know.

Last updated Comcast HD chart
-----------------------------------------------------
802 WGBH HD (PBS HD)
804 WBZ-DT Boston (CBS-HD)
805 WCVB-DT Boston (ABC-HD)
807 WHDH-DT Boston (NBC-HD)
809 WMUR-DT Manchester (ABC-HD)
821 National Geo
823 Discovery HD
825 WFXT-DT Boston (Fox-HD)
828 MHD
831 TBS HD
832 HGTV HD
833 TNT HD
835 USA HD
837 AnE HD
838 WSBK-DT Boston
839 HD Theatre
842 CNN HD
846 Universal HD
848 Versus /Golf HD
849 ESPN HD
850 ESPN 2 HD
851 NESN HD
852 Comcast Sportsnet NE HD
853 NFL Network HD
854 Food HD
856 WLVI-DT Boston (CW-HD)
857 Science channel HD
862 SciFi channel HD
863 Animal Planet HD
868 Cinemax HD
870 HBO HD
872 History HD
875 Starz HD
877 Showtime HD
881 Mojo

Digital Starter required for all channels except those in other tiers (Premium/locals/National Geo/NFL)

In addition, Boston has:

822 NHL HD
847 Weather Channel HD
859 AMC HD
867 TLC HD

hmm... I dont have 857 (science channel) in hd..

Neither do I.

chitchat, I am sure youll see the adds in the coming months when you visit our forum. A co-worker of mine tried RCN than switched to FIOS and glad he did.Hope my town will have FIOS one day. Got a good deal from Cpmcast when added Comcast Digital Voice from Verizon phone sevice. But my year promo fee will be up sooner than I know.

I think Disney,ABC Family,and Science channel on Tuesday (Disney in time to catch the Miley Cyrus concert film,although it will also be on Starz)

AMC,TLC,showtime 2 and TMC the following Tuesday.

I'll be really quite happy if AMC shows up in time to catch Mad Men in HD again this year.

How do you think the people of Nashua feels?

"We are going to wire you for FIOS."

three months later

"Welcome to Fairpoint!"

How about we had the head-ends in NH for FiOS TV and they pulled them and sent them to NJ. Another reason to Hate Jets/Mets/Giants/Yankees/Devils fans.

Pete

http://www.petelanglois.net (http://www.petelanglois.net)

not taking sides but very interesting link:

http://www.tvpredictions.com/verizon072008.htm

I have it from a comcast source who *thinks* that we will have new HD channels "as early as the end of the week"

Was a-wonderin' . . .

Regarding the recent changes--MSNBC, CN8 and the other one. On the "extra" TV--expanded basic, coax straight into the TV, no box--I get the "this channel has moved, see comcastdigital.net (or whatever the site is.)"

On the "good" TV, with the digital box, those "changed" channels show up BOTH in their old location-3,40, & 56(?)-and the new one.

Not that it makes any practical difference, but why is this so?

same here, channels are in BOTH spots now

Almost a week later, and not much has changed...

Was a-wonderin' . . .

Regarding the recent changes--MSNBC, CN8 and the other one. On the "extra" TV--expanded basic, coax straight into the TV, no box--I get the "this channel has moved, see comcastdigital.net (or whatever the site is.)"

On the "good" TV, with the digital box, those "changed" channels show up BOTH in their old location-3,40, & 56(?)-and the new one.

Not that it makes any practical difference, but why is this so?

The channels aren't taking up double bandwidth, the channel is simply being mapped on the digital box to both locations. Which still doesn't make any sense because some day they will have to delete the old channel creating more confusion. Just move it and be done with it.

-Ken

I just received a notice on my TivoHD that the following HD channels have been added in Concord, NH on Comcast:
DisneyHD 824
FamilyHD 826
ScienceHD 866.
They are in the Tivo schedule but there is nothing coming in on the channels yet.
I'll try a reboot and see what happens.

I just received a notice on my TivoHD that the following HD channels have been added in Concord, NH on Comcast:
DisneyHD 824
FamilyHD 826
ScienceHD 866.
They are in the Tivo schedule but there is nothing coming in on the channels yet.
I'll try a reboot and see what happens.

Nothing new here in Derry, NH.

nothing new in here either.

I just received a notice on my TivoHD that the following HD channels have been added in Concord, NH on Comcast:
DisneyHD 824
FamilyHD 826
ScienceHD 866.
They are in the Tivo schedule but there is nothing coming in on the channels yet.
I'll try a reboot and see what happens.

I updated my SageTV lineup, and I have those channels, but my comcast boxes can't tune them, and there is NO DATA in my Sage Guide. Looks like they are coming very soon. I'm in Dover, NH.

In North Andover/Lawrence area, does anyone know if MSNBC and TRU TV are being passed unscrambled such that my QAM tuner can pick up the channels (currently have only Comcast basic and not looking to get digital boxes).

For that matter, is there a resources where I can see a line up of Comcast's unscrambled channels (# and station) that can be received on digital TVs with QAM tuners?

just be patient, HD will come :D

In North Andover/Lawrence area, does anyone know if MSNBC and TRU TV are being passed unscrambled such that my QAM tuner can pick up the channels (currently have only Comcast basic and not looking to get digital boxes).

For that matter, is there a resources where I can see a line up of Comcast's unscrambled channels (# and station) that can be received on digital TVs with QAM tuners?

Digital boxes only for those channels. CN8 is available. I think 83-6.

Here in Somerville, MA (10 Mins away from Boston) We got ABC Family HD, Disney HD & Science Channel HD at midnight.

Here in Somerville, MA (10 Mins away from Boston) We got ABC Family HD, Disney HD & Science Channel HD at midnight.

Same here in Watertown

Here in Somerville, MA (10 Mins away from Boston) We got ABC Family HD, Disney HD & Science Channel HD at midnight.

I just checked it out here and just like I posted (the second time around), the channels launched. Cannot wait for next Tuesdays HD launch.

Same here near Brockton. Look forward to next week. Will Weather Channel -HD make it out to the burbs or do we need to wait until next analog migration?

In North Andover/Lawrence area, does anyone know if MSNBC and TRU TV are being passed unscrambled such that my QAM tuner can pick up the channels (currently have only Comcast basic and not looking to get digital boxes).

For that matter, is there a resources where I can see a line up of Comcast's unscrambled channels (# and station) that can be received on digital TVs with QAM tuners?

see this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11190968#post11190968) post, it's old and probably changed a bit by now. just plug in and do a scan.

Got 'em out here in Clinton too. Although the only one I'll end up watching is Science Channel. But hey, it's better than a kick in the head.:D

Here in Salem too.

The Science channel might be interesting and hopefully has a lot of HD programming which I doubt the other two will have. I say we get rid of some of the phoney HD channels ( A&E, TBS. Animal Planet etc,) and put The Weather Channel on in their place instead of waiting for more bandwidth! It makes me angry some of these channels even call themselves High-Def because their anything but.

During the day most of the OTAs are 480p not true 1080i or 720p HD. WSBK-DT is only 480p except for 1 hour for Wheel and Jeopardy.. 480p is an improvement over 480i. We need another round of analog migration for more bandwidth for more HD.

The Science channel might be interesting and hopefully has a lot of HD programming which I doubt the other two will have. I say we get rid of some of the phoney HD channels ( A&E, TBS. Animal Planet etc,) and put The Weather Channel on in their place instead of waiting for more bandwidth! It makes me angry some of these channels even call themselves High-Def because their anything but.

Biker will be happy since he can watch his Kyle KY.

-Ken

The Science channel might be interesting and hopefully has a lot of HD programming which I doubt the other two will have. I say we get rid of some of the phoney HD channels ( A&E, TBS. Animal Planet etc,) and put The Weather Channel on in their place instead of waiting for more bandwidth! TBS has shows in HD (like My Boys. So does A&E. How about we forget all this crazy talk about the Weather Channel in HD and instead focus on channels with real shows. I have a hard time believing that anyone really would rather have the Weather Channel (of all things) in HD rather than, say FX or AMC or another premium movie channel or...damn near anything else. It just absolutely boggles my mind. Yes, of course, the pretty weather maps will look better in HD, but wasting a whole HD channel on that? Crazy talk.

TBS has shows in HD (like My Boys. So does A&E. How about we forget all this crazy talk about the Weather Channel in HD and instead focus on channels with real shows. I have a hard time believing that anyone really would rather have the Weather Channel (of all things) in HD rather than, say FX or AMC or another premium movie channel or...damn near anything else. It just absolutely boggles my mind. Yes, of course, the pretty weather maps will look better in HD, but wasting a whole HD channel on that? Crazy talk.

Since this is a HD forum, I would be willing to bet most here would welcome the Weather Channel since most of it's programming is in guess what, high definition. And to say that channels that show 1 or 2 hours of true HD have more merit over one that shows 20 only proves who is talking crazy. Your point of view is in the minority here because most here want HD and if that includes one channel that shows weather, so be it.

Your point of view is in the minority here because most here want HD and if that includes one channel that shows weather, so be it.So you're saying that you'd rather have the 100% HD Paint-Drying Channel over the 10% HD FX channel?

Yes, this is the HD forum and yes, I want more and more HD, but the reality is that bandwidth is a precious commodity and I'd rather not waste it on a channel showing weather reports. I also don't want my cable provider wasting HD bandwidth on QVC-HD, even if it is 100% HD.

Instead, I'd much rather use that bandwidth on channels that show interesting content, even if only a fraction of that content is in HD ---- it's simple, I'll only tune in for the HD fraction, but 10% of the FX channel is worth many, many times more than 100% of the weather channel.

Actually, we're really happy to see that we'll be able to watch the Middleman in HD next week.

SCIHD, DISHD and FAMHD all are live here in Burlington. Excellent!

Am I the only one NOT getting HD feed for channel 802 WGBH (PBS)? I remember that a couple of months ago it was HD but suddenly the channel came off the HD listing guide and is no longer in HD. :confused:

So you're saying that you'd rather have the 100% HD Paint-Drying Channel over the 10% HD FX channel?

Yes, this is the HD forum and yes, I want more and more HD, but the reality is that bandwidth is a precious commodity and I'd rather not waste it on a channel showing weather reports. I also don't want my cable provider wasting HD bandwidth on QVC-HD, even if it is 100% HD.

Instead, I'd much rather use that bandwidth on channels that show interesting content, even if only a fraction of that content is in HD ---- it's simple, I'll only tune in for the HD fraction, but 10% of the FX channel is worth many, many times more than 100% of the weather channel.

Sorry, I don't agree with your analogy. A channel that shows more HD regardless of the content is more valuable than one the shows only 10%. Besides we have plenty of channels in HD that already show movies, sports, and so on. Having ONE channel that is dedicated to weather would be more valuable to lots of people other than you since that option does not exist on most systems at this time and for those that depend on it, it would be a welcome addition.

Am I the only one NOT getting HD feed for channel 802 WGBH (PBS)? I remember that a couple of months ago it was HD but suddenly the channel came off the HD listing guide and is no longer in HD. :confused:

802 has switched from The PBS HD Channel (an all-HD/Widescreen SD service) to a simulcast of regular GBH/2. Much of that feed is not in HD yet, but it should improve over time. Check out The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, which is in HD and has more HD location footage than NBC Nightly News.

Finally we also get the 3 new Hd's. Disney, Family, and Science. Just came on 5 minutes ago.

Manchester, NH also has Disney HD, Family HD, and Science HD. Our first channel additions in quite a long time.

802 has switched from The PBS HD Channel (an all-HD/Widescreen SD service) to a simulcast of regular GBH/2. Much of that feed is not in HD yet, but it should improve over time. Check out The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, which is in HD and has more HD location footage than NBC Nightly News.

Even Nova is not in HD? I don't believe I've seen any HD on WGBHD since a couple months ago. I don't believe Newshour is in HD either but I'll check tommorow....:(

Update: Nevermind, I'm watching Wide Angle in HD right now...but I find it strange that Nova and Nature are not in HD, two of the best programs on PBS.

It isn't by program, but rather, for now, a matter of when the program is broadcast on WGBH versus when it is broadcast on the national HD feed. When the two coincide, then you'll see the program in HD on WGBH. When the two don't coincide, i.e., when WGBH has to record and rebroadcast a program later, it will be in SD.

They need some new equipment to record and play back HD off the national feed.

There is plenty of room for the Weather channel in HD, just think that the three channels added yesterday only took up one of the 5 analog channels removed. Plenty of room for all tastes !!!

There is plenty of room for the Weather channel in HD, just think that the three channels added yesterday only took up one of the 5 analog channels removed. Plenty of room for all tastes !!!

:mad::( Is too bad picture quality is not top priority.

Interesting - just noticed in Boston that I've got Science HD in the guide twice as channels 857 and 866. I've had it for some time at 857...looks like it got duplicated in the last few days.

Disney HD, Fam HD, Science HD, are live here in SE mass.

still not impressed with all these new channels -science channel looked okay- but disney, tbs looked poor-just like animal planet and scifi-its just blown up. hopefully this will improve- but if someone who doesn't have HD Tv and wanted to see it- I would never show them those channels- thats for sure.
thetman

FAMHD definitely looks better than FAM SD. I'll check out the others later.

Got all three new HD channels in Gardner yesterday.

Amnesia, I'd have to agree with you on the Weather channel HD discussion. If there is any channel I could care less about going to HD its the weather channel. I'd watch almost any other HD channel with 10% of its programming in HD way more often than the weather channel in 100% HD. I just don't care if my local on the 8's is in HD.

I have the Digital Starter package and not getting the Science channel (866) in SE Mass . Is not in the Starter package?

In North Andover/Lawrence area, does anyone know if MSNBC and TRU TV are being passed unscrambled such that my QAM tuner can pick up the channels (currently have only Comcast basic and not looking to get digital boxes).

For that matter, is there a resources where I can see a line up of Comcast's unscrambled channels (# and station) that can be received on digital TVs with QAM tuners?

I live in North Andover and don't get either of those through unencrypted QAM (either on my TV or HD Homerun tuners). Try this link for finding channels: http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdhomerun/channels

I'm in Billerica and I noticed that since Tuesday, most of the HD channels have syncing/stuttering problems.

For example, ESPN HD, NESN HD, HISTORY HD, Discovery HD, all have syncing/stuttering problems. Its strange that only certain HD channels are affected but all SD channels are fine. :eek:

Anyone else in the same area having this issue?

I'm in Billerica and I noticed that since Tuesday, most of the HD channels have syncing/stuttering problems.



I am seeing the same thing on NESN HD tonight - in Billerica.

I am seeing the same thing on NESN HD tonight - in Billerica.

What about other HD channels?:confused:

I have not been seeing it on other HD channels and NESN is OK right now. I watched Science HD last night and did not notice it. NESN post game tonight is when I say it. Have not seen it other times.

Is there anyone on this forum who is running a CableCard in an HDTV with TV Guide On-Screen in the Boston Comcast zone?

I've had trouble retrieving guide info ever since I had a part replaced in my TV, and I'm trying to figure out if it's just a coincidence that Comcast stopped sending the info out over the line, or if they need to fix something.

Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

My Guide is working (I've got Pio Elite).
So what's the deal with MSNBC on 251 ? Am I supposed to now be paying extra for that ? And I don't get Science Channel in HD either.
BTW, Comcast's CS depart. is said to have been moved to India. I'd like to know how they're gonna be sending me a test signal from Calcutta.
Honestly, I've had it up to here with these cretins.
Most prolly will be dropping them and signing with Dish.

My Guide is working (I've got Pio Elite).
So what's the deal with MSNBC on 251 ? Am I supposed to now be paying extra for that ? And I don't get Science Channel in HD either.
BTW, Comcast's CS depart. is said to have been moved to India. I'd like to know how they're gonna be sending me a test signal from Calcutta.
Honestly, I've had it up to here with these cretins.
Most prolly will be dropping them and signing with Dish.

Just to settle your paranoia...

MSNBC on 251 is in the same package as 200 (Movieplex), 297 (Weather NBC) and a few others. All you need is Standard cable and a box.

Science Channel in HD is part of digital classic just like its SD counterpart.

Comcast customer service has 9 call centers in New England and each center is continuously expanded to eliminate the need of outsources beyond the region. Most outsourcing goes as far as New Brunswick Canada, eh?.

My Guide is working (I've got Pio Elite).
So what's the deal with MSNBC on 251 ? Am I supposed to now be paying extra for that ? And I don't get Science Channel in HD either.
BTW, Comcast's CS depart. is said to have been moved to India. I'd like to know how they're gonna be sending me a test signal from Calcutta.
Honestly, I've had it up to here with these cretins.
Most prolly will be dropping them and signing with Dish.

Do you use TVGoS with your Pioneer Elite?

In the Chelmsford Independent newspaper today comes word that the town of Chelmsford has begun negotiating with Verizon for FioS to come to town ! The town manager expects a license to be granted rather quickly. Whether I stay with Comcast or go to Verizon for the H* channels, competition is a good thing !

http://www.wickedlocal.com/chelmsford/homepage/x1542098415/Competition-for-cable-subscribers

-Ken

Does any one know if there is anything on Ch.3 now where CN8 used to be,direct connect;or is there an Digital (HD) signal there now. Most HD and digital signals are in the upper range above Ch 74. Also, with the 4 new HD channels coming next week with the 3 already this week does the fill up the 4 analog channels that were moved July 15? 3HD/1Analog =12 new; 2HD/1 analog=8 new HD channels. Could be room for 1to 5 additonal Channels

I figure they'll use Channel 3 for some new encrypted HD channels (i.e., HBO2HD).

In the Chelmsford Independent newspaper today comes word that the town of Chelmsford has begun negotiating with Verizon for FioS to come to town ! The town manager expects a license to be granted rather quickly. Whether I stay with Comcast or go to Verizon for the H* channels, competition is a good thing !

http://www.wickedlocal.com/chelmsford/homepage/x1542098415/Competition-for-cable-subscribers

-Ken

Competition is good. Does this include North Chelmsford?

Competition is good. Does this include North Chelmsford?

"under any licensing agreement, Verizon would be required to provide service to the entire town..."

Check the fine print. Verizon has been here in Burlington for a while; they strung the fiber past our home in August 2006; but yet they still cherry-picked customers within the town offering service to some and not to others.

Is anyone else getting TNT on both 831 and 833?

yeah i'm getting them on both as well, TBS is replaced by TNT. Looks like Turner needs to get his **** together.