This thread continued from...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=226652

Thanks

Regarding Comcast's 3-way bundle (cable, internet and phone) mentioned in the old thread: I would think this is also available in non-Fios towns. You should call Comcast and ask for their best price on the bundle. You could also tell them that "Fios is coming" to your town. Can't hurt.

Mickey

Regarding Comcast's 3-way bundle (cable, internet and phone) mentioned in the old thread: I would think this is also available in non-Fios towns. You should call Comcast and ask for their best price on the bundle. You could also tell them that "Fios is coming" to your town. Can't hurt.

Mickey

I thought this was a national marketing effort... $99 for 12 months. I don't live in a FIOS town, and get pelted with this once or twice a year via snail mail.

I thought this was a national marketing effort... $99 for 12 months. I don't live in a FIOS town, and get pelted with this once or twice a year via snail mail.

I thought if you had the OLD comcast phone you didn't qualify for the triple play bundle. I have the OLD digital phone, digital classic, and HSI.

-Ken

I thought if you had the OLD comcast phone you didn't qualify for the triple play bundle. I have the OLD digital phone, digital classic, and HSI.

-Ken
I was offered the triple play with HBO, Starz, and an HD dvr for $116 ( $123 with tax) and I already had Comcast for cable, internet and phone.( not on one bill) I thought it was because FIOS just came into Lynn and they were trying to hold on to customers. They called me with the offer.(second time they called ). I was waiting to see what FIOS had to say and turned down the first offer from Comcast which wasn"t as good.(no HBO or Starz). I accepted this one as the talk on Boston- Verizon seemed to turn negative. Plus they didn't budge on the $.

I was offered the triple play with HBO, Starz, and an HD dvr for $116 ( $123 with tax) and I already had Comcast for cable, internet and phone.( not on one bill) I thought it was because FIOS just came into Lynn and they were trying to hold on to customers. They called me with the offer.(second time they called ). I was waiting to see what FIOS had to say and turned down the first offer from Comcast which wasn"t as good.(no HBO or Starz). I accepted this one as the talk on Boston- Verizon seemed to turn negative. Plus they didn't budge on the $.

I'm not sure about who/what/where but I DO know that FIOS has been available where I am in Middleboro for a while but TV service is getting close to being available (local charter red tape as usual). I just assumed Comcast was touting this package to both migrate the legacy phone customers and to lock in as much customer base as possible.

I went to watch the NHL All-Star game on 881 and to my surprise got the Celtics instead. Could another channel have been used? This is where we miss INHD2 because in previous years the Celts would be on 882 and Comcast would have put the Hockey game on 881. Granted they put the 3rd period on after the Celts were over but I couldn't help feel like we have gone backwards with HD programming lately. I hope they start to add dedicated channels like VS soon to avoid situations like these or I'm going to start getting PO. Our HD options should be getting better not worse.

BTW watching the C's lose their 17th out of the last 19 is really not too enjoyable anyways.

I was offered the triple play with HBO, Starz, and an HD dvr for $116 ( $123 with tax) and I already had Comcast for cable, internet and phone.( not on one bill) I thought it was because FIOS just came into Lynn and they were trying to hold on to customers. They called me with the offer.(second time they called ). I was waiting to see what FIOS had to say and turned down the first offer from Comcast which wasn"t as good.(no HBO or Starz). I accepted this one as the talk on Boston- Verizon seemed to turn negative. Plus they didn't budge on the $.

$116 for the bundle and the HD DVR? And they called you?? Wow, That's really good. I was looking at the bundle on line and it lists $129.99 but no mention of the DVR. I figured another $9.95 on top of the bundle plus various other fees and taxes.

I'm in the same situation as a few others here, Comcast for cable, internet and phone (but not the digital voice thats being pushed.) I have been thinking about droping the phone service and going cellular for the cost savings. I'll have to get my bills and info in order and give customer retention a call. This offer would be something to keep me as a phone customer.

I currently have the Basic Cable package (no Expanded Basic Cable AKA Standard Cable), plus an HD Box, and Digital Classic. From weeding though pages and pages of the previous incarnation of this thread, I know that people in the past have been able to get NESN HD through this configuration. For me, however, channel 851, NESN HD, is blocked.

I did Comcast's online support chat (which has be extremely helpful in the past) and was told that the only way to get NESN HD is through the Digital Starter package, which includes Expanded Basic Cable. I don't want to pay for, nor do I want to watch the Expanded Basic Cable channel lineup.

When I added on the Digital Classic package, I did it at my local Watertown Comcast office without a hassle. Can anybody tell me if I am out of luck or do I just need to go back to my local office? If the latter, which package do I ask for? Is Digital Plus now called Digital Preferred?

Deez

NESN HD Sox games used to be on 881 before NESN got its own channel. Now it's part of Extended/Expanded/Standard/Starter/Whatever package. So, no, you (and I) don't get NESN HD with only Digital Classic.

NESN HD Sox games used to be on 881 before NESN got its own channel. Now it's part of Extended/Expanded/Standard/Starter/Whatever package. So, no, you (and I) don't get NESN HD with only Digital Classic.

Argh! Was worried that Expanded Basic was required now. You want to split the cost with me? :D

Deez

Requires Classic only:

TNT,Discovery,UHD,ESPN,INHD

Requires DIGITAL STARTER:

National Geo,ESPN2,NESN

Requires Digital starter AND Classsic:

MHD

Locals only require basic and premiums comes with the corresponding channel.

Requires Classic only:

TNT,Discovery,UHD,ESPN,INHD

Requires DIGITAL STARTER:

National Geo,ESPN2,NESN

Requires Digital starter AND Classsic:

MHD

Locals only require basic and premiums comes with the corresponding channel.

Thanks chitchatjf, but here's where I get confused: I have Digital Classic, without having the Extended Basic... is it possible to have Digital Starter without having the Extended Basic similarly?

Deez

Thanks chitchatjf, but here's where I get confused: I have Digital Classic, without having the Extended Basic... is it possible to have Digital Starter without having the Extended Basic similarly?
Digital Starter is the same as Extended Basic + a box or CableCard, so you can't have Digital Starter without Extended Basic.

Requires Classic only:

TNT,Discovery,UHD,ESPN,INHD

Requires DIGITAL STARTER:

National Geo,ESPN2,NESN

Requires Digital starter AND Classsic:

MHD

Locals only require basic and premiums comes with the corresponding channel.

Great summary, perhaps a mod could add this to the first post in this thread.

I'm in the same situation as a few others here, Comcast for cable, internet and phone (but not the digital voice thats being pushed.) I have been thinking about dropping the phone service and going cellular for the cost savings. I'll have to get my bills and info in order and give customer retention a call. This offer would be something to keep me as a phone customer.

Well I called customer retention this morning, and I'm very happy to say it was a breeze.

I ended up going with the Preferred Plus Bundle for $129.99. I asked about the $116/118 (with HBO and Starz, + HD DVR) prices mentioned above. Initially I was told that wasn't an option but with a bit of polite asking she checked and said I could have that if I really wanted. It would have meant down grading from digital preferred to digital classic. I would have saved even more money, but in the end I'm happy with what I saved plus the addition of Starz for a year. The bundle goes into affect on Tuesday after they come out and swap out the modem. If it helps anyone here's my price breakdown,

$129.99 (Preferred Triple play bundle with HBO and Starz)
$9.95 DVR
$7.50 Second cable box
$3.00 Cable modem rental (I had previously owned my own)

A one time charge to change phone over $24.95 but she waved some other $99 charge.

If you do it before 02/01/07 you can also lock in at the current equipment charges.

Edited to include : I forgot to mention I had no leverage like FIOS to use. I just asked it I could have the bundle.

My Comcast bill right now is ~$60 a month, which is for Basic, Digital Classic and the DVR.
As soon as they add HDNet I guess the tiers are going to change or I'll add the $7 sports entertainment package just to get that channel. I don't watch sports much, but I do want HDNet. It's well worth that.

is it me or did they add a channel to the guide? we get five per page now, I think it was 4

Requires Classic only:

TNT,Discovery,UHD,ESPN,INHD

Requires DIGITAL STARTER:

National Geo,ESPN2,NESN

Requires Digital starter AND Classsic:

MHD

Locals only require basic and premiums comes with the corresponding channel.

Does anyone know what subscribers of Family Tier get for HD other than the locals? None?

Does anyone know what subscribers of Family Tier get for HD other than the locals? None?

I WOULD add National GEo but it looks like none.

Any thoughts on the impending exclusivity of MLBEI on DTV?

Because, personally, I feel that alienating more than half of their fan base is a brilliant move by MLB executives for a $700M payoff over 7 years...

Boston HD lineup (as of 2/11) along with what is needed to get each channel

Ch # Name of network tier required to get it
============================================================ ====
802 WGBH HD (PBS HD Channel) Basic
804 WBZ-DT Boston (CBS-HD) Basic
805 WCVB-DT Boston (ABC-HD) Basic
807 WHDH-DT Boston (NBC-HD) Basic
809 WMUR-DT Manchester (ABC-HD) Basic
821 National Geographic HD Starter
825 WFXT-DT Boston (Fox-HD) Basic
828 MHD Starter AND Classic
833 TNT HD Classic
838 WSBK-DT Boston Basic
839 Discovery HD Theatre Classic
846 Universal HD Classic
848 Verses/golf HD Starter
849 ESPN Classic
850 ESPN 2 Starter
851 NESN Starter
856 WLVI-DT Boston (CW-HD) Basic
868 Cinemax HD Cinemax
870 HBO HD HBO
875 Starz HD Starz
877 Showtime HD Showtime
881 INHD Classic

Basic is limited basic (local channels)
Classic is lowest digital cable tier (Currently 7.95)
Starter is fancy name for Extended basic with cable box.

Comcast has been allowing people to get digital packages without having to get extended basic. This may change. New HD channels will most likely require at LEAST starter

is it me or did they add a channel to the guide? we get five per page now, I think it was 4


I still only get 4 with that stupid banner at the bottom. I'm on the South Shore.

I am moving into a house where the CATV was brought into the crawl-space and came up through the floor where the TV was. I am putting the TV in a new location and since I have the walls open, will be installing jacks where the main TV will be as well as each of the 2 bedrooms. My question is – Will Comcast come out and run the TV into the attic instead of the crawlspace? I’ll do the wiring in the attic for all the drops, but I hate working in crawlspace and where the TV will be, doesn’t have a crawlspace. I’d rather not have more cable than I need to (ie run it don he side of the house into the crawlspace and then right back up into the attic)

Related question: Does anyone have any experiences with Leviton quick-ports? I saw them in HomeDepot and seemed like a good system to hook up the speakers, CATV and FM antenna all into one faceplate. I saw BestBuy had speaker faceplates. Preferences?

From Tvpredictions.com :

Washington, D.C. (January 25, 2007) -- DIRECTV this month announced it will offer 100 national HDTV channels by year's end, leaving some to wonder if cable operators will be able to keep up.

However, Comcast revealed this week that it's testing a new technology that may let cable operators offer a much larger number of high-def networks. (Most cable operators now offer less than 20 HDTV channels due largely to bandwidth restraints.)

Called 'Switched Digital Video,' Comcast says it will likely deploy the new technology in the second half of 2007 -- when DIRECTV is expected to expand its high-def lineup.

"If a programmer comes to us and says, 'We want you to carry new HD channels' … we’re stuck in that bandwidth problem," Rick Riboili, Comcast's vice president of production platform engineering, said this week at an industry conference. Rioboli's remarks were reported today by Multichannel News.

But with the new technology, the cable op can easily expand high-def capacity, meaning "we don’t have to plan two or three years in advance which channels we’re going to be dropping to carry HD."
can deliver more channels than regular broadcasting because the signals are sent via video streams only when the viewer turns to that channel. Consequently, a cable operator is not forced to store every channel in its lineup.

Rioboli told the publication that Comcast wants to ensure that the technology is stable before deploying.
"We're done with the vendor evaluation and system design," he said. "Now we need to get to the point where we can realistically deploy and manage it."

He did not reveal where the technology is being tested.

Good news and bad news.

The bad news being that switched digital video renders cable cards fairly moot.

Whatever. All I know is the apartment development right next door to me has FIOS broadband, 2x-3x the bandwidth for less money and I can't get it.

When my sweet $20/6mos basic broadband deal with Comcast runs out I'll be paying close to $80-$90 for just the Basic broadband DVR/etc. Then hopefully I'll be able to squeeze the 3-fer-$100 option with cable/DVR and Starz/HBO or something like that out of them.

Cable tuners for PC were always on their way out what with Vista and CableCard support. They're going to become more and more inflexible.
Thankfully FCC rules still require the cable companies to provide working Firewire ports on at least one model of their cable tuners and that isn't likely to change in the near future.

Good news and bad news. The bad news being that switched digital video renders cable cards fairly moot.There are some people on some other forums who are staunching contending that this reality cannot possibly be. :rolleyes:

As it is, it simply requires a change to multi-directional CableCards. No fun for people with consumer electronics equipment that don't support them, but that is one of the down-sides of being an early-adopter of new consumer electronics technology.

There are some people on some other forums who are staunching contending that this reality cannot possibly be. :rolleyes:

As it is, it simply requires a change to multi-directional CableCards. No fun for people with consumer electronics equipment that don't support them, but that is one of the down-sides of being an early-adopter of new consumer electronics technology.

As a user of cable card I'm concerned about this; does anyone know the status of multi-directional cards and, how do we know what existing devices support these cards? I have not heard much about these cards or devices supporting them.

Thanks

does anyone know the status of multi-directional cards and, how do we know what existing devices support these cards? I have not heard much about these cards or devices supporting them.

Thanks

I think we have not heard much about these devices because AFAIK, there are no devices currently on the market that will accept CableCard 2.0. From what I've been reading, so far, all the cable companies are having a tough enough time trying to correctly install and support v1.0.

My installer initially inserted my card in 180 degrees the wrong way, but once it was flipped over, it was provisioned and works fine so far.

Instead of investing big $$$ into switched services, why not just spend the $$$ to give away the digital converter boxes and get rid of more analog channels? I realize down the road switched may be the way to go for other reasons....

Because ultimately, I think the demand for bandwidth for those new HD channels will far exceed what they can reclaim from the analog channels.

Suppose they plan on adding 100 HD channels. They'd need to free up 50 analog channels for that, and even if they gave away digital converter boxes to everyone, they'd still royally honk off people who've been relying on directly tuning the locals on their VCRs or TiVos.

Then again, I'm not quite sure where they'd find 100 HD channels. The sats are probably inflating their numbers from having to carry a bunch of the major market stations, and no one would really receive all of them.

Originally Posted by DaveFi
So what's in the $7 sports and entertainment package now (or does it even exist)?


TCM
Bloomberg
Speed
Outdoor Ch
Fox Soccor
NBA TV
CSTV
FCS 1
FCS 2
FCS 3
NFL Network
Tennis
BET Jazz
Fox movies
Gol TV

What is FCS 1, 2 and 3?

As a user of cable card I'm concerned about this; does anyone know the status of multi-directional cards and, how do we know what existing devices support these cards? I have not heard much about these cards or devices supporting them.

Thanks

Here's an article about the debut of some devices with the next generation CableCards.

http://hd.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=99651

What is FCS 1, 2 and 3?

FOX College Sports, They are known on the air as FOX College Sports Atlantic, Central and Pacific.

Is anyone else here experiencing frequent audio dropouts with FOX HD? I'm a recent Adelphia-Comcast convertee, but have been experiencing this problem for at least a year before the Comcast cutover. It seems to occur mainly (If not only) during shows like "24" and "House" and probably happens at least 5 times per episode. I'm experiencing the same issue with two different sets connected to Scientific 8300HD DVR boxes. It's very likely a problem with FOX, as I don't have any frequent audio problems with other HD channels, but I'm curious to see if anyone else has the problem before I begin the likely fruitless exercise of calling Comcast support.

As a user of cable card I'm concerned about this; does anyone know the status of multi-directional cards and, how do we know what existing devices support these cards? I have not heard much about these cards or devices supporting them.My understanding is that support for CC2.0 is a matter of design. Some consumer electronics are designed with a high probability that they can be readily upgraded to support CC2.0, while others are not.

I saw my first bill under the "new" rates.

Still $3.79 for a cable box. With the SD DVR only $9.94 including the box perhaps the slighly lower rate of $13.74 is correct.

Also keep in mind that even if a box supported multistream and 2.0 cablecards that doesn't mean these boxes can support SDV and other two-way services. The reason for this is that the box itself must have the hardware to enable bi-directional communication. CableCard 2.0 cards can support two way services but they still need to interface with bi-directional hardware. Right now current S3 Tivo DVR boxes aren't bi-directional and as such they can never support SDV as they exist today. Now if Tivo could make a USB dongle or something clever that would add that missing bi-directional support to existing S3 users things might be fine.

The USB dongle would be a fine idea for those of us who shelled out for an S3, but I doubt that Cable Labs (or whatever the name of that organization is) would allow the output of a cable card to cross such an easily interceptable link.

I could be wrong. Hope I'm wrong. I mean, I did spend all that money on what's probably going to prove to be an interim product, but you know...

(Just hoping that at least the major locals remain unswitched.)

The USB dongle would be a fine idea for those of us who shelled out for an S3, but I doubt that Cable Labs (or whatever the name of that organization is) would allow the output of a cable card to cross such an easily interceptable link.

I could be wrong. Hope I'm wrong. I mean, I did spend all that money on what's probably going to prove to be an interim product, but you know...

(Just hoping that at least the major locals remain unswitched.)


In theory, the dongle wouldn't have anything to do with the content that the CableCard is protecting. It simply needs to send the Out of Band (OOB) data back upstream to the head end, covering such things as channel changes, VOD and PPV selections, etc.

Folks at TiVo has posted on TCF that the current S3s will likely never have bi-directional support. I suspect that if we see a TiVo than can handle SDV, it'll be a new piece of hardware, perhaps the "S4".

I don't think a usb dongle would work. In order to communicate upstream a device will have to have a modulator that either speaks the proprierty OB (unlikely) or DOCSIS, which uses QAM. Basically a CE device would be a cable modem inside it to work two-way.

anyone else getting a lot of "to be announced" on their guide past 6-7 days out??

That happens occasionally. Recenly, however, that's been happening less and less.

Last night I noticed a new channel pop up. # 848. There was a VS logo in the top right corner of the screen. Is this our Inhd2 replacement?

Last night I noticed a new channel pop up. # 848. There was a VS logo in the top right corner of the screen. Is this our Inhd2 replacement?

This is the Comcast Vs./Golf HD channel which is mostly a waste right now, I guess the will have a lot of Hockey and Golf in HD.

-Ken

I had assumed it would be 865.
I see Verses SD moving to 48,and perhaps golf to 53.

Last night I noticed a new channel pop up. # 848. There was a VS logo in the top right corner of the screen. Is this our Inhd2 replacement?

Thanks for the info man!

848 is in the Springfield/Holyoke DMA

So for a second week in a row, Smallville is in SD letterboxed on 856. Interestingly enough it is in Dolby Digital 5.1, which is odd since it's usually DPL II...proving that it's coming from the local affiliate, not the network feed. Is someone asleep at the switch there? Supernatural was in HD last week....annoying.

So for a second week in a row, Smallville is in SD letterboxed on 856. Interestingly enough it is in Dolby Digital 5.1, which is odd since it's usually DPL II...proving that it's coming from the local affiliate, not the network feed. Is someone asleep at the switch there? Supernatural was in HD last week....annoying.
Yay they fixed it...right after I sent the above post.

We in Fall River now have 848.

I think someone at Comcast is "thinking" :) and lumping all "Sports" channels in the 840 - 855 range.

848 Vs/Golf
849 ESPN
850 ESPN II
851 NESN

which could mean the leftover "weather" channel (845?) will get (re)moved :D

This is because they have been lumped before

48 ESPN Classic
49 ESPN
50 ESPN 2
51 NESN
52 FSN

At one time Speed was 54 and golf was 53.

As a user of cable card I'm concerned about this; does anyone know the status of multi-directional cards and, how do we know what existing devices support these cards? I have not heard much about these cards or devices supporting them.

Thanks
What we'll see over the next two to five years:
OCAP - Open Cable Application Platform - What this means) essentially, television service providers which offer 'pay for' services will be able to, via OCAP standards, embed program descrambling information within the video stream as opposed to being bound to using a proprietary data stream outside of the video stream. This in turn means that if you have ANY device which is OCAP compliant be it a TV, Daewoo cable box with 5 HDMI outputs and 2 360GB HDD's, a computer with a QAM tuner, etc. they will all be able to process scrambled video and display content which you pay for. This must accompany a form of return data delivery to the headend which may or may not be proprietary. The possibility does exist to operate in a continued one-way fashion, but there would be little advantage to that.

MoCA - Multimedia Over Coax Alliance - What this means) a next gen delivery path for data whether it is IP internet, VOIP or video. This technology is a true implementation of two way communication which can exceed 100Mbps. This communication occurs over your existing in home coaxial cable and presents no interference to traditional linear RF signals. In addition to this technology supporting what you'd think it would interface with, consider a MoCa compliant refridgerator, oven, microwave, printer, telephone, iPod, stereo, multi-disc CD/DVD player, lighting system and on and on. MoCA will reduce the need for running new CAT5 wiring in a home as the home would generally have more cable drops than CAT5. It is more reliable than 802.11x.

When combining OCAP and MoCA, what you will see is a standards compliant approach to integrating the technologial furnishings you own and those furnishings which are yet to be developed. OCAP's use of MoCA as a return path to a service provider enables true, flexible and standard two way communication for continued interactivity and control over both your furnishings and the content for which you subscribe. The bottom line is this, OCAP will allow you to receive the 'pay for' content wherever you want to see it (cable box, computer, refrigerator screen while you're eating you fruit loops) and MoCA will provide that open standards delivery path to communicate with the MSO and the rest of the world. Who ever thought their refrigerator would automatically place a peapod order every Friday night at 11:30 using cable and a shopping list stored in their SD card. Check out your available beer in your fridge before you leave work using MoCA to you fridge's web server.

"I gotta upgrade my fridge's SD card memory size because it doesn't allow me to to store all the beer brands I have defined in my random order selection que (there's full screen jpegs of each bottle in a 360 degree view)."

We in Fall River now have 848.

I think someone at Comcast is "thinking" :) and lumping all "Sports" channels in the 840 - 855 range.

848 Vs/Golf
849 ESPN
850 ESPN II
851 NESN

which could mean the leftover "weather" channel (845?) will get (re)moved :D

I actually like that weather channel, it is very convenient in amongst the HD channels. It would seem to me that it would be pretty easy to make a HD weather channel.

-Ken

Check out this article

Comcast: 'We're Not Worried About DIRECTV HDTV'
http://www.tvpredictions.com/burke020107.htm


Here is a snippet:
--------------------
The cable operator now offers less than 20 national high-def networks in most markets. But Burke told Wall Street analysts that Comcast will not try to match DIRECTV's HD lineup which is expected to include a large number of variety channels.

"We're not going to radically change our game plan," he said in an investors conference call. "We think we offer a superior HD experience."

Burke instead said Comcast will focus more on high-def movies, sports and local channels, which he said are most popular among his subscribers.
----------------------

When will Comcast wake up? They obviously don't get the fact that HD is here to stay and "I want my HDTV" is what people are saying!

Grrrrrr...

-t

Is WSBK-DT (838) taking up bandwidth of a full HD channel even though they hardly broadcast in HD? Or does the bandwidth only get taken up when they broadcast in HD? If it is, why not begin with removing it?!?

When will Comcast wake up? They obviously don't get the fact that HD is here to stay and "I want my HDTV" is what people are saying!Talk is cheap. Who cares what anyone is "saying"? I believe Comcast knows exact what people are driven to one subscription television service over another by, which is really all that is important. We, here on the AVS Forums, are only a small percentage of the people and generally aren't representative of the general public.

Is WSBK-DT (838) taking up bandwidth of a full HD channel even though they hardly broadcast in HD? Or does the bandwidth only get taken up when they broadcast in HD? The channel takes up the full bandwidth of an HD channel all the time.

Here is a snippet:
--------------------

...

Burke instead said Comcast will focus more on high-def movies, sports and local channels, which he said are most popular among his subscribers.
----------------------



I'd be OK with that, if they give us movies that respect OAR, have Dolby 5.1, etc.

I'm fairly satisfied with the lineup now, adding the HDNET channels would be my next choice. They also need to keep the quality high and not start lowering bitrates or start over-compressing.

Comcast has to move analog channels to digital to free up the bandwidth to add more HD channels while keeping the same bitrates. see no reason why Comcast cant go to from 70 analog channels down to 40-45 analog channels. This would be enough for all local brodacast, goverment , and the most popular cable chnnles to remain on the analog tier , and free up over 250 MHz of space for HD and more SD channels.

I'd be OK with that, if they give us movies that respect OAR, have Dolby 5.1, etc.

I'm fairly satisfied with the lineup now, adding the HDNET channels would be my next choice. They also need to keep the quality high and not start lowering bitrates or start over-compressing.


I'm not satisfied w/the line up.. With all the BS between Comcast and Cuban (even though right now I do have HDNEt and HDNmovies), and the snails pace to roll out new channels, it doesn't give me warm and fuzzies. I want my SD channels replaced by HD (which is what is going to happen as the years go on anway). Where is Food HD? where is Nat Geo HD? where is A&E HD?

Comcast is stil treating HD as if it is a special "tier" of service, when in reality the HD channels will eventually be the norm. It sounds to me like Comcast wants to cater their HD "tier" to those who will buy ondemand movies and special content. Sorry, but I prefer TV shows & local sports (no complaint on the sports coverage) over movies and I guess I don't fall into their properl demographic.

Seriously though, i may wind up having D* or E* plus comcast to get what I want.. :(

-t

Yesterday was the first day I tried to watch HD channels since they added the new channel. It may be a coincidence, but most, if not all, of my HD is now slightly "studdering" - non-fluid motion. It's really annoying. The only other time I've seen this was when I power cycled my stb and the studdered a bit until the guide was completely downloaded. I haven't lost power - the box has not been restarted. Could be an issue with my loop, but it seems awful fishy that it just started happening. Anybody else notice this? Figures this would happen just before the game tonight.

larry

I'm not satisfied w/the line up.. With all the BS between Comcast and Cuban (even though right now I do have HDNEt and HDNmovies), and the snails pace to roll out new channels, it doesn't give me warm and fuzzies. I want my SD channels replaced by HD (which is what is going to happen as the years go on anway). Where is Food HD? where is Nat Geo HD? where is A&E HD?

Comcast is stil treating HD as if it is a special "tier" of service, when in reality the HD channels will eventually be the norm. It sounds to me like Comcast wants to cater their HD "tier" to those who will buy ondemand movies and special content. Sorry, but I prefer TV shows & local sports (no complaint on the sports coverage) over movies and I guess I don't fall into their properl demographic.

Seriously though, i may wind up having D* or E* plus comcast to get what I want.. :(

-t

We DO have Nat Geo HD on 821 now, were you aware of that?

We DO have Nat Geo HD on 821 now, were you aware of that?
Not here in Southern NH.. although certain websites show us having the channel it has yet to show up. They also show us having WGBH HD on 702, but no go there either..

All of our HDs are in the 700s, so we could be pending a move to the 800s..

see no reason why Comcast cant go to from 70 analog channels down to 40-45 analog channels.Because that would require moving 25-30 channels from basic or enhanced cable up to the digital tier. I record shows on Sci-Fi, HGTV, Food Network, USA, FX, TNT and several other analog channels using my existing equipment (no cable box) and so if any of them were moved up to the digital tier, I'd have to pay more money and deal with the complexities of connecting each of my analog DVRs up to a STB including setting up IR blasters, which aren't very reliable, so my overall service experience may suffer. I wouldn't begrudge Comcast if they did that -- I'd pay the price and deal with it without malice -- but I suspect that many customers might be upset about that.

Are all 70 analog channels ,very popular? Maybe 20 to 25 is perhaps to many to go to digital from analog, BUT there must been 10 to 12 on analog that could go to digital without too much distress to many viewers. lets face it after Feb 2009 , Comcast could require a box to view TV after the broadcast stations are digital only after the analog turn-off.The goverment will provide converter boxes after the Feb 2009 turn off of analog to people without cable and only NTSC analog Tvs at home.Comcast might be smart to start tranistioning channels to digital now ,as Feb 2009 is only 2 years away.

The goverment will provide converter boxes after the Feb 2009 turn off of analog to people without cable and only NTSC analog Tvs at home.Comcast might be smart to start tranistioning channels to digital now ,as Feb 2009 is only 2 years away.

According to this article, the government is now only going to cover part of the cost of a digital converter box. People will probably be up in arms when they face payment for the boxes.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6413194.html

Comcast's HD line-up is still pretty good. We could still use a couple more channels and BW shouldn't be an issue if we drop 838. They have sports covered better than anyone else but I would like more movies and HDnet would be a no brainer for that. On-Demand for HD is a little expensive ( $5.99) and if they dropped it at least a $1, I would be a happy camper and buy more movies. When you consider PQ were not doing too bad with the # of channels we have, after all I rather have quality over quantity.

I'm not satisfied w/the line up.. With all the BS between Comcast and Cuban (even though right now I do have HDNEt and HDNmovies), and the snails pace to roll out new channels, it doesn't give me warm and fuzzies. I want my SD channels replaced by HD (which is what is going to happen as the years go on anway). Where is Food HD? where is Nat Geo HD? where is A&E HD?

Well, sure I want everything in HD too. When I said I was satisfied, I meant I don't see any major holes in the channels that are available. As noted, we do have National Geo, and from what I've read, A&E HD has very little HD content. I'd like more channels, but would rather have more good HD content.

Comcast is stil treating HD as if it is a special "tier" of service, when in reality the HD channels will eventually be the norm.

Well, so far they aren't pricing it that way, at least.

Are all 70 analog channels ,very popular? Maybe 20 to 25 is perhaps to many to go to digital from analog, BUT there must been 10 to 12 on analog that could go to digital without too much distress to many viewers.Who makes the choice? I listed the channels I care about. I bet if I asked my neighbors on on e side, they'd add A&E, AMC, Bravo, Court TV, Lifetime, Fox News, Bloomberg and CNBC. If I asked my neighbors on the other side, they'd add Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Hallmark, TVLand, ABC Family, Comedy Central, CNN, TWC. Joe, across the street would add ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, NESN, Fox Sports, and Speed. And I left E!, Travel Channel and MSNBC, off my list by mistake. And my wife would kill me if she lost Animal Planet. And there are 16 must-carry channels. I think there are may be 3 or 4 channels currently on analog that only a few people would care about losing.

If you want to accomplish something along these lines, get laws passed that prohibit municipalities from requiring their three access channels to be on analog, and get must-carry overturned.

lets face it after Feb 2009 , Comcast could require a box to view TV after the broadcast stations are digital only after the analog turn-off.Either that or provide them as in-the-clear QAM, but I understand what you're saying. However, I don't think there is any significance to the February 2009 date for Comcast: They can make that change-over right now, if the municipal agreements would allow it, and there is nothing that happens in February 2009 that suddenly makes it different for Comcast. February 2009 is a date that is just meaningful for OTA, not for cable.

Comcast's challenge isn't some arbitrary date, but satisfying customers who have expectations that their current equipment will work. If Comcast did as you suggest, they'd very likely lose a lot of customers to satellite, since if they're going to have to get a box anyway, why not switch providers? especially since these customers will be irrationally angry at Comcast for taking away something...

The goverment will provide converter boxes after the Feb 2009 turn off of analog to people without cable and only NTSC analog Tvs at home.Wrong, and wrong. The government may provide coupons for discounts on ATSC converters, and only one per household. So we're still looking at a lot of people having to spend money to put a box on every existing set in their home, dealing with the bother of doing so, and even then there is no reason to think these boxes will convert QAM.

Are all 70 analog channels ,very popular? Maybe 20 to 25 is perhaps to many to go to digital from analog, BUT there must been 10 to 12 on analog that could go to digital without too much distress to many viewers. lets face it after Feb 2009 , Comcast could require a box to view TV after the broadcast stations are digital only after the analog turn-off.The goverment will provide converter boxes after the Feb 2009 turn off of analog to people without cable and only NTSC analog Tvs at home.Comcast might be smart to start tranistioning channels to digital now ,as Feb 2009 is only 2 years away.

The reality is this...the cable operators will offer analog TV until around 2015, just a select amount. This will be a selling point for their service. If a subscriber cannot use their NTSC TV in the garage going cable direct with service from this MSO, they will go to another MSO who does offer analog TV. There is no mandate for the cable operators to stop offering analog service. There is just a need to manage the bandwidth used to transport channels in the best possible way, to offer products that subscribers will want and provide it to the subscriber in a way that keeps that subscriber from becoming churn.

Who makes the choice? I listed the channels I care about. I bet if I asked my neighbors on on e side, they'd add A&E, AMC, Bravo, Court TV, Lifetime, Fox News, Bloomberg and CNBC. If I asked my neighbors on the other side, they'd add Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Hallmark, TVLand, ABC Family, Comedy Central, CNN, TWC. Joe, across the street would add ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, NESN, Fox Sports, and Speed. And I left E!, Travel Channel and MSNBC, off my list by mistake. And my wife would kill me if she lost Animal Planet. And there are 16 must-carry channels. I think there are may be 3 or 4 channels currently on analog that only a few people would care about losing.

If you want to accomplish something along these lines, get laws passed that prohibit municipalities from requiring their three access channels to be on analog, and get must-carry overturned.

Either that or provide them as in-the-clear QAM, but I understand what you're saying. However, I don't think there is any significance to the February 2009 date for Comcast: They can make that change-over right now, if the municipal agreements would allow it, and there is nothing that happens in February 2009 that suddenly makes it different for Comcast. February 2009 is a date that is just meaningful for OTA, not for cable.

Comcast's challenge isn't some arbitrary date, but satisfying customers who have expectations that their current equipment will work. If Comcast did as you suggest, they'd very likely lose a lot of customers to satellite, since if they're going to have to get a box anyway, why not switch providers? especially since these customers will be irrationally angry at Comcast for taking away something...

Wrong, and wrong. The government may provide coupons for discounts on ATSC converters, and only one per household. So we're still looking at a lot of people having to spend money to put a box on every existing set in their home, dealing with the bother of doing so, and even then there is no reason to think these boxes will convert QAM.
PEG Channels are not mandated to be made available via analog tier...that is a choice on part of the service operator and their franchise coordinator. Must Carry is just that, must carry. End of story, it'll NEVER change. Even DirecTV has to comply with must carry, if you choose to subscribe to it. Nontheless, you're not gonna get ABC New York as you primary ABC if you live in Boston...that's is what must carry is about, not what channels to carry such as PEG's.

Comcast has to move analog channels to digital to free up the bandwidth to add more HD channels while keeping the same bitrates. see no reason why Comcast cant go to from 70 analog channels down to 40-45 analog channels. This would be enough for all local brodacast, goverment , and the most popular cable chnnles to remain on the analog tier , and free up over 250 MHz of space for HD and more SD channels.
Franchise agreement...violation=class action lawsuit=bad publicity. You should be happy that Comcast is doing all they can to offer more services, and complying with their legacy agreements.

Check out this article

Comcast: 'We're Not Worried About DIRECTV HDTV'
http://www.tvpredictions.com/burke020107.htm


Here is a snippet:
--------------------
The cable operator now offers less than 20 national high-def networks in most markets. But Burke told Wall Street analysts that Comcast will not try to match DIRECTV's HD lineup which is expected to include a large number of variety channels.

"We're not going to radically change our game plan," he said in an investors conference call. "We think we offer a superior HD experience."

Burke instead said Comcast will focus more on high-def movies, sports and local channels, which he said are most popular among his subscribers.
----------------------

When will Comcast wake up? They obviously don't get the fact that HD is here to stay and "I want my HDTV" is what people are saying!

Grrrrrr...

-t
If you overload your shopping cart are you actually gonna end up with all those Cheerios when you arrive home? Or will they drop off in the parking lot along the way? Same thing with stuffing a 700MHz antenna pipe. Think about it...52MHz-750MHz: analog TV - 500MHz, Digital domain - 250MHz, stuff in digital phone, digital voice (VOIP), HSD, VOD and monitoring signals. Whats leftover...squat, ya ever heard of Jack Schitt (cousin of Ida Neau). You should be praising the magicians at Comcast, they're not working with a lot...but you're getting 9Mbps and also HD and VOD...along with a digital simulcast of mustcarry and expanded basic.

If you overload your shopping cart are you actually gonna end up with all those Cheerios when you arrive home? Or will they drop off in the parking lot along the way? Same thing with stuffing a 700MHz antenna pipe. Think about it...52MHz-750MHz: analog TV - 500MHz, Digital domain - 250MHz, stuff in digital phone, digital voice (VOIP), HSD, VOD and monitoring signals. Whats leftover...squat, ya ever heard of Jack Schitt (cousin of Ida Neau). You should be praising the magicians at Comcast, they're not working with a lot...but you're getting 9Mbps and also HD and VOD...along with a digital simulcast of mustcarry and expanded basic.

Sorry, I'm but I don't subscribe to VOIP with comcast, VOD is useless for our household viewing habits, and what other marketing gizmos comcast can stuff in the pipe is useless to me. I don't need any of their other fancy services, i want internet and decent tv reception & programming.

Heck they can't even deliver a decent SD picture (both analog and digital) on a handful of local channels to my house, what would make me believe that things will get better in the future. Understood the pipe is overloaded, but its overloaded with JUNK channels that don't fit into my needs. I'd rather see services like VOD ann GOTuit channels optional, freeing up bandwith for what I want the service for.

You are right, Comcast doesn't have a lot of room in the pipe, but they are stuffing it with things THEY THINK I want/need. Hoping on the off chance that I may just spend $3.95 on a movie. I'll trade that ability for increased channels and QOS anyday.

-t

Regarding dropping analog channels: Before we got our HDTV, we were analog subscribers. We both did not want a cable box, and we got all the channels we wanted. If Comcast started dropping analog channels, I would have been royally pissed. The only way I could see to do this without angering customers would be to give the digital box for free with the Enhanced service.

I am an HD customer. I have two HD cable boxes (one DVR, one not). I have a Series 3 TiVo. I have two EyeTV-500 HD tuners for my Macs.

I would be sorely pissed if they dropped all the analog channels because for all of that hardware, I still appreciate that my old TV sets, as well as my Series 2 TiVos can directly tune the cable without need for a cable box. Aside from reducing the number of cable boxes I need, it also reduces the number of times the TiVo doesn't successfully change the box's channel (resulting in a recording of the wrong thing).

As wonderful as HD is, I still find utility in the analog service that comcast provides, and until most new consumer devices are capable of tuning the cable in similar fashion (without an external box), I'll continue to enjoy the analog service.

Not here in Southern NH.. although certain websites show us having the channel it has yet to show up. They also show us having WGBH HD on 702, but no go there either..

All of our HDs are in the 700s, so we could be pending a move to the 800s..

That's strange. Nashua is like the rest of Comcast NE with HD in the 800s. And we do get NG-HD on 821.

BTW They just added a new sports channel on 848. Not sure if it's the Golf channel since that's what was mainly being shown over the weekend, but they continue to add to the lineup.

That's strange. Nashua is like the rest of Comcast NE with HD in the 800s. And we do get NG-HD on 821.

BTW They just added a new sports channel on 848. Not sure if it's the Golf channel since that's what was mainly being shown over the weekend, but they continue to add to the lineup.

Agree its strange, but we are Ex-Adelphia.. and still have HDNet and such, so not sure if Comcast has full xferred us over yet..

-t

When combining OCAP and MoCA, what you will see is a standards compliant approach to integrating the technologial furnishings you own and those furnishings which are yet to be developed. OCAP's use of MoCA as a return path to a service provider enables true, flexible and standard two way communication for continued interactivity and control over both your furnishings and the content for which you subscribe. The bottom line is this, OCAP will allow you to receive the 'pay for' content wherever you want to see it (cable box, computer, refrigerator screen while you're eating you fruit loops) and MoCA will provide that open standards delivery path to communicate with the MSO and the rest of the world. Who ever thought their refrigerator would automatically place a peapod order every Friday night at 11:30 using cable and a shopping list stored in their SD card. Check out your available beer in your fridge before you leave work using MoCA to you fridge's web server.


I do not believe MOCA will be the return path method, its primary used for in-home networking between RF equiped devices. The standards based return path will be DSG which in an extention of DOCSIS.

I do not believe MOCA will be the return path method, its primary used for in-home networking between RF equiped devices. The standards based return path will be DSG which in an extention of DOCSIS.
Thank you for the correction, MoCA is just the delivery path for DSG in those systems that employ the technology.

Thank you for the correction, MoCA is just the delivery path for DSG in those systems that employ the technology.

To be a littler clearer. MoCA is not a CableLabs standard and DOCSIS/DSG is so, cable MSOs will use it for the upstream. I believe FIOS MSOs will use MoCA for upstream.

Sorry, I'm but I don't subscribe to VOIP with comcast, VOD is useless for our household viewing habits, and what other marketing gizmos comcast can stuff in the pipe is useless to me. I don't need any of their other fancy services, i want internet and decent tv reception & programming.

Heck they can't even deliver a decent SD picture (both analog and digital) on a handful of local channels to my house, what would make me believe that things will get better in the future. Understood the pipe is overloaded, but its overloaded with JUNK channels that don't fit into my needs. I'd rather see services like VOD ann GOTuit channels optional, freeing up bandwith for what I want the service for.

You are right, Comcast doesn't have a lot of room in the pipe, but they are stuffing it with things THEY THINK I want/need. Hoping on the off chance that I may just spend $3.95 on a movie. I'll trade that ability for increased channels and QOS anyday.

-t

You need to factor in the account that you are on a former Adelphia system. A system that was in bankruptcy until TW and Comcast came along and bought it all up. This thread was primarily devoted to the original Comcast formerly AT&T Broadband formerly MediaOne systems in SNH and MA. Give Comcast time to engineer and design and spend the money to get the Adelphia systems up to the same class as their existing systems.

And while VOD and VOIP aren't your cup of tea... there are alot more tea drinkers out there who want VOD. Comcast (and any other MSO for that matter) is going to cater to what the majority of their customers want to see.

If you want to accomplish something along these lines, get laws passed that prohibit municipalities from requiring their three access channels to be on analog, and get must-carry overturned.PEG Channels are not mandated to be made available via analog tier...that is a choice on part of the service operator and their franchise coordinator.I believe that's consistent with what I said. Yes?

...that's is what must carry is about, not what channels to carry such as PEG's.My point was that given all the considerations I listed, there are really only three or four channels on my area's analog service that only a few people would care about losting.

You are right, Comcast doesn't have a lot of room in the pipe, but they are stuffing it with things THEY THINK I want/need. You're mistaken. They're stuffing it with things THEY KNOW customers want. You may or may not be representative, and from what you're saying, you're not. That's actually a problem for you -- the less representative you are of the needs and wants that customers, in general, are willing to pay for, the worse service will appear to you, regardless of your service provider.

Regarding dropping analog channels: Before we got our HDTV, we were analog subscribers. We both did not want a cable box, and we got all the channels we wanted. If Comcast started dropping analog channels, I would have been royally pissed. The only way I could see to do this without angering customers would be to give the digital box for free with the Enhanced service.There's really no such thing as "free". They'd just build the cost of one box into the monthly charge they charge for basic service. Still, that would leave you with extra televisions unserviced. Won't that still annoy you?

Give Comcast time to engineer and design and spend the money to get the Adelphia systems up to the same class as their existing systems.Keep in mind, though, that they will do so in a timeframe commensurate with the profitability of doing so. Many of Adelphia's service areas are simply unattractive from a profit standpoint. Those areas will generally receive lesser service regardless of who provides service there. As a matter of fact, in some of those areas, some suppliers are actually selling their ground based facilities to lesser companies -- pulling out of the area completely -- so they don't have to deal with the problems of having some customers at one level of service and other customers at another level of service.

Hey everyone,

Both last night and Monday of last week I had the DVR (Moto 3412) set to record Studio 60 on NBC HD and The Hills on MTV both on at 10:00 PM. For some reason only the last 30 minutes of Studio 60 were taped. Did anyone else experience this?

I don't know if the time Studio 60 is on is coded wrong for the DVR to capture it correctly, of if for some reason my box no longer records two programs at once, so it captured the second half of Studio after The Hills ended at 10:30.

Hey everyone,

Both last night and Monday of last week I had the DVR (Moto 3412) set to record Studio 60 on NBC HD and The Hills on MTV both on at 10:00 PM. For some reason only the last 30 minutes of Studio 60 were taped. Did anyone else experience this?

I don't know if the time Studio 60 is on is coded wrong for the DVR to capture it correctly, of if for some reason my box no longer records two programs at once, so it captured the second half of Studio after The Hills ended at 10:30.
Did you leave your box on or was it powered off prior to the scheduled recording? If it was off, that might have caused the problem.

Mickey

I've gotten no repsonse in the OTA thread so I thought I'd post it here.

What's up with WLVI-DT? For the past 2 weeks Smallville hasn't been HD, just letterboxed 4:3 and this week's episode also doesn't list as HD.

Did WLVI-DT (the CW) stop showing HD?

I've gotten no repsonse in the OTA thread so I thought I'd post it here.

What's up with WLVI-DT? For the past 2 weeks Smallville hasn't been HD, just letterboxed 4:3 and this week's episode also doesn't list as HD.

Did WLVI-DT (the CW) stop showing HD?
I was flipping through last night, and whatever show was on WLVI-DT was in HD. I think it was "All of Us," but I'm not sure.

Did you leave your box on or was it powered off prior to the scheduled recording? If it was off, that might have caused the problem.

Mickey

Thanks for the response Mickey. It was powered off, but I power off the box 95% of the time I'm not currently watching and I haven't encountered the problem at any other time. But I'll try leaving it on from now on to see if that helps. I'll try to set up some bogus recordings and try it both ways and see what happens.

Thanks for the response Mickey. It was powered off, but I power off the box 95% of the time I'm not currently watching and I haven't encountered the problem at any other time. But I'll try leaving it on from now on to see if that helps. I'll try to set up some bogus recordings and try it both ways and see what happens.
I can’t explain why, but if the power was off, that was probably the cause. Generally, these boxes work better when the power is always on.

My advice is free and worth every penny. You could always place a call to Comcast, but the CSR would probably tell you to just unplug the box and then berate you for not upgrading to the Triple Play package. So I saved you from that.

Mickey

I can’t explain why, but if the power was off, that was probably the cause. Generally, these boxes work better when the power is always on.

My advice is free and worth every penny. You could always place a call to Comcast, but the CSR would probably tell you to just unplug the box and then berate you for not upgrading to the Triple Play package. So I saved you from that.

Mickey

I consider calling them to be the second to last option, right before sledgehammer. I had to unplug and reset the thing about two weeks ago anyway because none of my recordings would play. Maybe the box is slowly dying. I could trade it in but my gf has so much crap saved on it that we'd have to have some crazy viewing marathon that would result in me poking my eyes out and ripping off my ears. I guess I need to decide if that would come before or after calling comcast. Decisions, decisions...

That's strange. Nashua is like the rest of Comcast NE with HD in the 800s. And we do get NG-HD on 821.

BTW They just added a new sports channel on 848. Not sure if it's the Golf channel since that's what was mainly being shown over the weekend, but they continue to add to the lineup.

VS and the Golf Channel combined from what the description says.

I consider calling them to be the second to last option, right before sledgehammer. I had to unplug and reset the thing about two weeks ago anyway because none of my recordings would play. Maybe the box is slowly dying. I could trade it in but my gf has so much crap saved on it that we'd have to have some crazy viewing marathon that would result in me poking my eyes out and ripping off my ears. I guess I need to decide if that would come before or after calling comcast. Decisions, decisions...

Since you have so much on the hard drive, I would check priority recording. This kicks in when your almost out of BW and will record the program you have set to the higher position.

I've gotten no repsonse in the OTA thread so I thought I'd post it here.

What's up with WLVI-DT? For the past 2 weeks Smallville hasn't been HD, just letterboxed 4:3 and this week's episode also doesn't list as HD.

Did WLVI-DT (the CW) stop showing HD?
Pretty certain that WB moved their studio. Would think that if they did that would be a factor, possibly not having all systems in place.

Saw a note this AM on the cable box which is officially announcing channel 848 as the Comcast Sports HD Channel which combines Versus (VS) and The Golf Channel. Obviously they will be focusing on Hockey and Golf for this channel. Standard service with HD equipment required.

I want an HD all-curling, all the time channel.

What's up with WLVI-DT? For the past 2 weeks Smallville hasn't been HD, just letterboxed 4:3 and this week's episode also doesn't list as HD.

Did WLVI-DT (the CW) stop showing HD?

I'm south of bosston- last week the first half of smallville was not in HD-but the second half was :confused: The week before it was not in HD at all-seems like a crap shoot lately. and these newer channels like the golf channel- they are usless- doesn't look like HD to me. Discovery is usually in HD but sometimes theyblow hot and cold too-depends on the night I guess. I;m not a hockey or B-ball fan- so lately there isnot much to watch-maybe some network shows..CSI always looks good.
thetman

I called Comcast and asked about the triple-play deal and she told me it was only for new subscribers. I currently have TV and internet from them, and was interested in the phone service.

I asked her "so new customers get this deal and those of us who have been loyal customers for years can't get it?" She told me that was true.

So I see from this thread that some of you have indeed gotten the deal. What tips can you give for squeezing it out of the CSR's?

I don't have FIOS available in my area yet (coastal southern NH).

I called Comcast and asked about the triple-play deal and she told me it was only for new subscribers. I currently have TV and internet from them, and was interested in the phone service.

I asked her "so new customers get this deal and those of us who have been loyal customers for years can't get it?" She told me that was true.

So I see from this thread that some of you have indeed gotten the deal. What tips can you give for squeezing it out of the CSR's?

I don't have FIOS available in my area yet (coastal southern NH).

the $99 bundle is only for new subs but you can get the $129 bundle, same as the $99, but includes Preferred pk with HBO & Starz. any sub can get that one

Saw a note this AM on the cable box which is officially announcing channel 848 as the Comcast Sports HD Channel which combines Versus (VS) and The Golf Channel. Obviously they will be focusing on Hockey and Golf for this channel. Standard service with HD equipment required.

Which DOES make sense as you need Digital starter (or extended basic) to get Verses OR the Golf channel.

the $99 bundle is only for new subs but you can get the $129 bundle, same as the $99, but includes Preferred pk with HBO & Starz. any sub can get that one

But i already have Digital Premiere AND SnE pack,HS internet and the OLD plhone. could I still get that (but keep my Cinemax,Showtime,TMC &SnE pack)? :)

I just bypassed the CSR's and asked for a customer retention representative. I got the $129 bundle then added DVR and a second box to that. I was under the impression I could add more if I wanted. Can't hurt to call and ask.

Pretty certain that WB moved their studio. Would think that if they did that would be a factor, possibly not having all systems in place.

I posted about this while Smallville was on last Thursday. In the middle of the broadcast they finally fixed it, just after I made my post. For some reason, Thursday is the night someone's asleep at the wheel over at WLVI since at least Wednesday has proper HD that I know of for sure.

But i already have Digital Premiere AND SnE pack,HS internet and the OLD plhone. could I still get that (but keep my Cinemax,Showtime,TMC &SnE pack)? :)

yes, but it would be more than 129. call for accurate pricing

the $99 bundle is only for new subs but you can get the $129 bundle, same as the $99, but includes Preferred pk with HBO & Starz. any sub can get that one
When I go to comcast.com, it describes the Triple Play like this:

Comcast is now offering internet, phone and cable together in one package for just $33 each per month for one year when you sign up for all three. It’s a great value. This package is designed for new customers and includes:


It describes the Preferred Plus bundle like this:

Comcast is now offering internet, phone and cable together in one package, plus Digital Preferred Plus w/HBO and Starz - all for just $129.99/month for 12 months. It’s a great value. This package is designed for new customers and includes:

So why can I get one and not the other?

So why can I get one and not the other?


Honestly, I can't answer that. But like I wrote earlier anyone can get the 129 bundle

I'm going to be a new subscriber (moving out of RI into MA).... so far my cable HD experience has been sub-par (COX doesn't have FOX/CBS in HD in RI)... so I think anything will be an improvement.

Here's what I'm looking for:
- Basic cable (including usuals like USA/TNT etc)
- HD channels - but don't really care if I have ESPN2/MHD
- HD DVR
- Broadband (FIOS internet is available)

What would be the best plan as a new subscriber? What's the best way to get it - simply call up?

I currently use a voip service but have heard that there have been some issues with VOIP over comcast...

any thoughts would be appreciated.

Honestly, I can't answer that. But like I wrote earlier anyone can get the 129 bundle

Based on the rates in Lawrence:

standard cable wthOUT box: $51.20

6 Mb internet for Basic cable subscribers $42.95

Digital preffered with HBO and starz $38.45

looks like with this offer you save SAOME money and get the phone for FREE!

I may just sign up :)

I'm going to be a new subscriber (moving out of RI into MA).... so far my cable HD experience has been sub-par (COX doesn't have FOX/CBS in HD in RI)... so I think anything will be an improvement.

Here's what I'm looking for:
- Basic cable (including usuals like USA/TNT etc)
- HD channels - but don't really care if I have ESPN2/MHD
- HD DVR
- Broadband (FIOS internet is available)

What would be the best plan as a new subscriber? What's the best way to get it - simply call up?

I currently use a voip service but have heard that there have been some issues with VOIP over comcast...

any thoughts would be appreciated.

Since you are a NEW subscriber,the $99 package is available to you but it DOEs include their VOIP

You progobobly want to add digital classic tio get the other HDs (HD locals are included with LIMITED BASIC)

I haven't posted about this but have been wondering for a while...why is Universal HD only coming through as Dolby Digital 2.0 not 5.1? Even in recent NBC shows they are reruning, and Battlestar Galactica, they are not in 5.1. I seem to remember maybe a move or two being in 5.1. Does anyone know why, and is it just from Comcast (doubtful).

I haven't posted about this but have been wondering for a while...why is Universal HD only coming through as Dolby Digital 2.0 not 5.1? Even in recent NBC shows they are reruning, and Battlestar Galactica, they are not in 5.1. I seem to remember maybe a move or two being in 5.1. Does anyone know why, and is it just from Comcast (doubtful).Battlestar Galactica is fully DD5.1, I can guarantee you that. With older movies it's harder to tell, but otherwise they're all screwed up by forcing fake DD5.0 output with practically everything. They do occasionally suprise, I've seen some newer movies be DD5.1 like Undercover Brother, etc.

They've always been this way, the forum members (myself included) have been emailing them for years and they've done nothing, and haven't even responded once on the subject.

Battlestar Galactica is fully DD5.1, I can guarantee you that. With older movies it's harder to tell, but otherwise they're all screwed up by forcing fake DD5.0 output with practically everything. They do occasionally suprise, I've seen some newer movies be DD5.1 like Undercover Brother, etc.

They've always been this way, the forum members (myself included) have been emailing them for years and they've done nothing, and haven't even responded once on the subject.

Ok so they are just being stupid. But, the last time I caught a Galactica rerun, there was zero sound coming from my surrounds (and switching to any other channel resulted in normal surround sound). One workaround is to have the motorola box output PCM and then you can have your receiver process it as Dolby Pro Logic. None of the higher-end receivers I've had allow you to screw around with a 5.1 Dolby or DTS mix.

BSG is 5.1, it just doesn't use a lot of rear channel processing. If it's not then it's the first episode I've heard that didn't use it. Wait for them to go back out into space again and then we'll know. Last season it was on quite a bit.

Stargate Atlantis on the otherhand is 2.0 for sure and I did like you said and I just gave in and connected analog cables to my cable box and now have proper PLII on their programming.

Hey L Supreme, anything new on the near horizon that you can talk about?

Hey L Supreme, anything new on the near horizon that you can talk about?

Not as of yet

Deathstroke, after watching this week's episode of BSG I concluded that you're correct and UHD has screwed up this season's airing and it is not DD5.1. Sad considering the last two seasons were and its surround sound was a big part of the fun. Oh well.

regarding the trippleplay, it's 129 for 12 months, how much after that? Is there an installation fee? if so, best way to get it wiaved? Thanks,

Jason

I called last week on the triple play bundle. The phone cost goes up $10 at the end of the year. She, the CSR, did not mention any other increases other than the $10 when I asked what the price was after a year. Of course, does not mean it does not go up even more as we were discussing the VOIP at that point and it was not clear if I was aking about the VOIP price or the overall price.

Also, there is a $99 installation fee(she waived it without asking because I was an existing customer, or so she said) I do have to pay the "activation fee, I think it was 19.95 but may have been 29.95.

I was concerned about the VOIP quality and she said there is a 30 day guarantee and that I could just go back to the old service if in the first 30 days I was not happy and there was no charge. She also gave me her direct line so if I had any problems to call her. She stated she had the VOIP and has had it for less than a year and at the beginning she did have problems but the past few months has worked well. She stated that it is newer technology so ther emay be some speed bumps along the way. She was very honest and one of the best reps I've spoken to.

Anyway, I'm doing the bundle for $129 which will save me $65-70 per month over what I'm paying now and I get Starz which I did NOT have and my second line gets free long distance and local which it did not have before. So, I wills ee how the phone service goes, it is suppose to be a better quality than vonage because they do not use public internet so quality is controlled by Comcast. Hopefully that is god because which I talk to people with vonage and it's a massive headache talking to them with the "can you hear me, hello, where did you" go a constant in the conversation..

Not as of yet

Well thanks anyways, I just hope they do something with 838 and replace it with a national HD channel soon.

Well thanks anyways, I just hope they do something with 838 and replace it with a national HD channel soon.

I wouldn't.

The thing is right now Comcast has consent to retransmit WSBK-DT. If they decide to pull it off even temporarily they could lose that consent.

There may not be much at the present but you never know the future.

yes, but it would be more than 129. call for accurate pricing

Try 146. :)

compared to 153.59 for just TV and internet (Digital Premire WITH ready for HDNet (My name for Sne) pacjkage) :)

Hey everyone,

Both last night and Monday of last week I had the DVR (Moto 3412) set to record Studio 60 on NBC HD and The Hills on MTV both on at 10:00 PM. For some reason only the last 30 minutes of Studio 60 were taped. Did anyone else experience this?


I think Studio 60 was scheduled as starting at 10:01 last night. Did you have 2 shows recording at 9:00? If one of them, say Heroes, was scheduled to end at 10:01, it can cause a conflict when trying to record two shows at 10:00 as the DVR thinks there are three shows at 10, due to that 1 minute overage. I know I have had to do a manual recording starting at 10:01 in the past to get around the conflict.

However, that fact that it would then start recording the last half hour is weird.

My Bill went up $3 a month with Feb 1 increase. Also, in bill ;ESPN Classic will move to digital starter only on 3/31/07. May free up bandwidth for 2 new HD channels. Comcast is SLOWLY moving stuff on analog. Will i stay a trickle ,or become a drip as time goes on....?

I live in Scituate and have been trying to get a 3416 since October. I called the 1 800# today to have them check with my local office to see if they had one in stock. I was told that they aren't available in my area and they haven't even started testing them for this area. Just wondering if this is just a line or what. It seems if they are available in other areas they should be able to roll them out everywhere. Any thoughts?

:confused: I wouldn't.

The thing is right now Comcast has consent to retransmit WSBK-DT. If they decide to pull it off even temporarily they could lose that consent.

There may not be much at the present but you never know the future.

Why? If we had the chance to get HDnet or another Natl. HD channel you wouldn't drop 838 if they needed the BW. Besides a channel that isn't HD is useless in the 800 tier and as far as I know TV38 has not mentioned any plans for HD in the near future. So with BW being king right now until new technology arrives on the scene, lets get rid of the deadweight now so we can add more worthwhile channels in it's place. To me this makes much more sense.

:confused:
lets get rid of the deadweight now so we can add more worthwhile channels in it's place. To me this makes much more sense.

I couldn't agree more. WSBK-HD is broadcasting 0% HD as of now. Even if it were capable of sending any HD at all, there are only 2 shows on that network in HD, (Jeopardy and Wheel of fortune). What a joke.... AND what a waste.

I live in Scituate and have been trying to get a 3416 since October. I called the 1 800# today to have them check with my local office to see if they had one in stock. I was told that they aren't available in my area and they haven't even started testing them for this area. Just wondering if this is just a line or what. It seems if they are available in other areas they should be able to roll them out everywhere. Any thoughts?


Hi - I live in Hingham and had the Comcast Digital Voice installed this past Saturday. I asked the installer if he was using the 3416's for new installs. He did't know, but said we could check his truck. We did, and found he had a 3416 that he didn't need for the day. I actually installed it to replace my 2 year old 3412 which was locking up all the time and being non responsive to the remote constantly. Happy to report the 3416 is working flawlessly via DVI to HDMI (Comcast provided) - no remote problems or reboots needed. Only been four days, but so far I'm thrilled with performance and with the increased HD space.

I couldn't agree more. WSBK-HD is broadcasting 0% HD as of now. Even if it were capable of sending any HD at all, there are only 2 shows on that network in HD, (Jeopardy and Wheel of fortune). What a joke.... AND what a waste.

We don't even get Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune in HD in Boston. I'm not sure why...either way, they need to dump that pathetic channel.

Hi - I live in Hingham and had the Comcast Digital Voice installed this past Saturday. I asked the installer if he was using the 3416's for new installs. He did't know, but said we could check his truck. We did, and found he had a 3416 that he didn't need for the day. I actually installed it to replace my 2 year old 3412 which was locking up all the time and being non responsive to the remote constantly. Happy to report the 3416 is working flawlessly via DVI to HDMI (Comcast provided) - no remote problems or reboots needed. Only been four days, but so far I'm thrilled with performance and with the increased HD space.

Interesting! Thanks for the info. It is very frustrating trying to get new equipment from comcast. I think I was one of the first in the area to get a dvr and one of the last to get a dual tuner dvr! Glad to hear it is working well for you. I am constantly having difficulty with my 3412 not syncing properly with the tv, so I am anxious for the 3416, not to mention the the need for the larger hard drive.

:confused:

Why? If we had the chance to get HDnet or another Natl. HD channel you wouldn't drop 838 if they needed the BW. Besides a channel that isn't HD is useless in the 800 tier and as far as I know TV38 has not mentioned any plans for HD in the near future. So with BW being king right now until new technology arrives on the scene, lets get rid of the deadweight now so we can add more worthwhile channels in it's place. To me this makes much more sense.

If Bandwidth was an issue and there was a contract to carry HDNet I would just pulls some channels off analog to make the room.

Suppose Comcast had decided to drop it say a month ago. The could easily have decided to pull off WBZ-DT as well or the SD channels too.

Despite the CURRENT lack of HD programming,it DOES make sense to KEEP WSBK-DT on the system.

I live in Scituate and have been trying to get a 3416 since October. I called the 1 800# today to have them check with my local office to see if they had one in stock. I was told that they aren't available in my area and they haven't even started testing them for this area. Just wondering if this is just a line or what. It seems if they are available in other areas they should be able to roll them out everywhere. Any thoughts?

Someone is blowing smoke, my 6412 fried the day of a week long trip back right after xmas. I went to Norwell and they didn't have any DVRs in stock, was told "by 3PM" (the time I was taking off). They called Scituate which just got their delivery. I went over to Scituate, and got one and it was a 3416. I will note the rep in the Scituate office was rude, she asked why I was in Scituate instead of Norwell. I told her about the trip, her response was 'its just TV' among a few other choice comments.

If Bandwidth was an issue and there was a contract to carry HDNet I would just pulls some channels off analog to make the room.

Suppose Comcast had decided to drop it say a month ago. The could easily have decided to pull off WBZ-DT as well or the SD channels too.

Despite the CURRENT lack of HD programming,it DOES make sense to KEEP WSBK-DT on the system.

Your logic makes no sense. And try pulling some of those SD channels off and see the firestorm that creates when they could easily just drop the non-use HD channel. Why are you so hung up on this station when you can just view the SD channel ( 14 ) if your a big Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune fan. The only thing I suspect is Comcast might be under contract to carry it but once they stopped broadcasting in HD, that contract should be null and void.

If Bandwidth was an issue and there was a contract to carry HDNet I would just pulls some channels off analog to make the room.

Suppose Comcast had decided to drop it say a month ago. The could easily have decided to pull off WBZ-DT as well or the SD channels too.

Despite the CURRENT lack of HD programming,it DOES make sense to KEEP WSBK-DT on the system.
Cable companies cannot just "pull" analog channels. Carriage agreements present restriction to "pulling" content which has been negotiated by a contract with the program provider. Violation=court (and CourtTV).
If you are to make statements about which content MSO's should or should not "pull" read up on their carriage agreements and then make a statement. Don't forget, "must carry" rules dictate that MSO's provide carriage for broadcasters within 50 miles of the city or town the MSO serves. Furthermore, retransmission agreements must also be considered when making statements about carriage and "pulling." BTW, have you ever researched what it takes to change programming content on multiple transmission systems, both analog and digital across 190 cities and towns?

Someone is blowing smoke, my 6412 fried the day of a week long trip back right after xmas. I went to Norwell and they didn't have any DVRs in stock, was told "by 3PM" (the time I was taking off). They called Scituate which just got their delivery. I went over to Scituate, and got one and it was a 3416. I will note the rep in the Scituate office was rude, she asked why I was in Scituate instead of Norwell. I told her about the trip, her response was 'its just TV' among a few other choice comments.

Thanks for the info. Yes, the personnel in the Scituate office are occasionally helpful, but most the time they seem annoyed that a customer is there and asking for service. When I have asked (three times now) for the 3416, I have had to educate them as to what it is and why I would need one since I have a working 3412. They don't seem to understand that it has a larger hard drive. They told me they should have them available in January (this was shortly before xmas). I was very puzzled with the response I got yesterday about "testing the equipment" in the area. I am most frustrated at this point and given the info you have provided, I will definately be calling the 1 800# again as well as paying a visit to the Scituate office.

We don't even get Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune in HD in Boston. I'm not sure why...either way, they need to dump that pathetic channel.
Well, I notice that Channel 38 will be carrying most of the New England Revolution matches the next two years. If Kraft Sports Productions (who will produce the telecasts) invests in HD equipment -- perhaps in 2008 -- then there would be some locally-produced HD content on the channel. Of course, all the (other) major Boston sports teams have some or all their games in HD.

Soccer's great in HD, as was evidenced by the World Cup matches last year.

Cable companies cannot just "pull" analog channels. Carriage agreements present restriction to "pulling" content which has been negotiated by a contract with the program provider. Violation=court (and CourtTV).
If you are to make statements about which content MSO's should or should not "pull" read up on their carriage agreements and then make a statement. Don't forget, "must carry" rules dictate that MSO's provide carriage for broadcasters within 50 miles of the city or town the MSO serves. Furthermore, retransmission agreements must also be considered when making statements about carriage and "pulling." BTW, have you ever researched what it takes to change programming content on multiple transmission systems, both analog and digital across 190 cities and towns?

WSBK AND WBZ are OWNED by CBS. Comcast has consent to retransmit both their SD and HD signals. If they were to pull off WSBK-DT then CBS would be in its right to refuse to consent to retransmit the other three channels (WBZ-DT,WBZ-TV and WSBK-TV)

WSBK AND WBZ are OWNED by CBS. Comcast has consent to retransmit both their SD and HD signals. If they were to pull off WSBK-DT then CBS would be in its right to refuse to consent to retransmit the other three channels (WBZ-DT,WBZ-TV and WSBK-TV)
I have a Chihuahua that eats Natural Choice Sensitive Stomach...what's your point?

I called last week on the triple play bundle. The phone cost goes up $10 at the end of the year. She, the CSR, did not mention any other increases other than the $10 when I asked what the price was after a year. Of course, does not mean it does not go up even more as we were discussing the VOIP at that point and it was not clear if I was aking about the VOIP price or the overall price.

Also, there is a $99 installation fee(she waived it without asking because I was an existing customer, or so she said) I do have to pay the "activation fee, I think it was 19.95 but may have been 29.95.

I was concerned about the VOIP quality and she said there is a 30 day guarantee and that I could just go back to the old service if in the first 30 days I was not happy and there was no charge. She also gave me her direct line so if I had any problems to call her. She stated she had the VOIP and has had it for less than a year and at the beginning she did have problems but the past few months has worked well. She stated that it is newer technology so ther emay be some speed bumps along the way. She was very honest and one of the best reps I've spoken to.

Anyway, I'm doing the bundle for $129 which will save me $65-70 per month over what I'm paying now and I get Starz which I did NOT have and my second line gets free long distance and local which it did not have before. So, I wills ee how the phone service goes, it is suppose to be a better quality than vonage because they do not use public internet so quality is controlled by Comcast. Hopefully that is god because which I talk to people with vonage and it's a massive headache talking to them with the "can you hear me, hello, where did you" go a constant in the conversation..
Comcast Digital Voice is only VOIP to their switch. The VOIP you will share on the internet is only within your fiber node servicing neighborhoods (<500 homes). I had the service for about a year and there were some glitches, mostly with accessing voicemail. There was one time when my wife was disconnected during a call and then I had no dialtone for about three minutes but then all was fine. One thing to note is that I believe most of the issues with CDV were a result of subscribers who had the legacy Comcast phone service and switched to CDV. I don't think the two systems were able to link during the transition process from one phone system to the next. I experienced this as I was one of those subscribers who transitioned. Comcast CDP(legacy phone system) subscribers were unable to call me for about two weeks after I was on the CDV system. It seemed that my phone number still existed in the CDP system so when a CDP subscriber called my number the CDP system couldn't find the CDP box on the side of my house so the system informed the caller that my phone was out of service. Anyone who had CDV or was a non Comcast phone service subscriber could reach me.

I called Comcast and asked about the triple-play deal and she told me it was only for new subscribers. I currently have TV and internet from them, and was interested in the phone service.

I asked her "so new customers get this deal and those of us who have been loyal customers for years can't get it?" She told me that was true.

So I see from this thread that some of you have indeed gotten the deal. What tips can you give for squeezing it out of the CSR's?

I don't have FIOS available in my area yet (coastal southern NH).
Try telling them " I think I'm ready to switch to Verizon for my internet because I can get the telephone and internet on one bill. Is there anything Comcast could offer that would compare and be competitive?"

I live in Scituate and have been trying to get a 3416 since October. I called the 1 800# today to have them check with my local office to see if they had one in stock. I was told that they aren't available in my area and they haven't even started testing them for this area. Just wondering if this is just a line or what. It seems if they are available in other areas they should be able to roll them out everywhere. Any thoughts?
I just got a 3416 installed with free HDMI cable. Signed up for the triple play special with HBO and Starz thrown in. Getting the 3416 was lucky as they wouldn't take a request for it. They will give HDMI cable IF you ask for it ahead of time. Contractor for Comcast said they have buckets of them but he doesn't get one to bring unless it's on the purchase form. I asked to keep the cable card and they said it would still be free. Comcast was about 20 less than Verizon. The 3416 locked up once when I was playing with the live tv rewind features. A bad start but has been great now for over a week. Love recording hd and not messing with tapes. :cool:

Well, I notice that Channel 38 will be carrying most of the New England Revolution matches the next two years. If Kraft Sports Productions (who will produce the telecasts) invests in HD equipment -- perhaps in 2008 -- then there would be some locally-produced HD content on the channel. Of course, all the (other) major Boston sports teams have some or all their games in HD.

Soccer's great in HD, as was evidenced by the World Cup matches last year.

Kraft Sports Productions does have HD equipment, they shot the Pats preseason games in HD, and if you noticed last season the Revs home games the cameras are the HD ones, but they choose SD due to costs.

So what's up. They raise the rates, get rid of INHD2, and we don't even have A&E-HD or Food-Network-HD, that they get on Comcast in other parts of the country?

Not that I care. I don't really want those (A&E maybe) and I probably won't qualify because I don't have extended cable.

The only thing I'm concerned about is that they do indeed keep raising the rates and are cutting the services somewhat. All I want is HDNet.

So what's up. They raise the rates, get rid of INHD2, and we don't even have A&E-HD or Food-Network-HD, that they get on Comcast in other parts of the country?

Not that I care. I don't really want those (A&E maybe) and I probably won't qualify because I don't have extended cable.

The only thing I'm concerned about is that they do indeed keep raising the rates and are cutting the services somewhat. All I want is HDNet.

You do realise that they added MHD, NGHD and Versus/Golf HD channels in the last 3 months (oh and 806 for us in the South) :confused:

So what's up. They raise the rates, get rid of INHD2, and we don't even have A&E-HD or Food-Network-HD, that they get on Comcast in other parts of the country?

Not that I care. I don't really want those (A&E maybe) and I probably won't qualify because I don't have extended cable.

The only thing I'm concerned about is that they do indeed keep raising the rates and are cutting the services somewhat. All I want is HDNet.

Aside from what Old-Man said about the new HDs in the last 3 months... did it slip your mind that INHD2 went away completely... not just by Comcast, but by InDemand.

Aside from what Old-Man said about the new HDs in the last 3 months... did it slip your mind that INHD2 went away completely... not just by Comcast, but by InDemand.

And Comcast owns a significant chunk of InDemand.

And Comcast owns a significant chunk of InDemand.

How bout this... ah nevermind, its not worth it. No matter what anyone says, if its contrary to what you want to hear you just won't accept it.

Comcast will do what is best for its bottom line. Their bottom line is affected by the happiness of the MAJORITY of their customers. So they will cater to the MAJORITY of their customers.

This thread has become an absolute waste of space. No one helps anyone anymore... its a giant bitchfest. I for one am done reading this thread.

Enjoy the Thread Crapping.

I'm just starting to learn about HD.... Hopefully I'm not asking in the wrong place...

Are non-premium Comcast Digital/HD channels broadcast as unencrypted "QAM". I'm wondering if a HDHomeRun would work for me? (I'm already a happy SageTV user).

Thanks.

Are non-premium Comcast Digital/HD channels broadcast as unencrypted "QAM". I'm wondering if a HDHomeRun would work for me? (I'm already a happy SageTV user).

I'm not sure if this is true everywhere, but in my area (Malden) all the locals are available in HD over unencrypted QAM. That's PBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, CW, and UPN. However, other channels like TNT HD and ESPN HD are encrypted, so you need a CableCard or a box to view them.

How bout this... ah nevermind, its not worth it. No matter what anyone says, if its contrary to what you want to hear you just won't accept it.

Comcast will do what is best for its bottom line. Their bottom line is affected by the happiness of the MAJORITY of their customers. So they will cater to the MAJORITY of their customers.

This thread has become an absolute waste of space. No one helps anyone anymore... its a giant bitchfest. I for one am done reading this thread.

Enjoy the Thread Crapping.

That came out of nowhere. :confused:

I'm just starting to learn about HD.... Hopefully I'm not asking in the wrong place...

Are non-premium Comcast Digital/HD channels broadcast as unencrypted "QAM". I'm wondering if a HDHomeRun would work for me? (I'm already a happy SageTV user).

Thanks.

I live in southern NH, and have the HDHomeRun setup for all my unencrypted QAM channels under MythTV... works great. There are lots of success stories with other PVRs including Sage, MCE etc.

If it helps.. The HDHR thread on AVS is at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=731457 and the vendor HDHR support forum at http://www.silicondust.com/forum

When ESPN Classic goes digital only on 3/31/07, will Ch48 be used by another analog channel which is now around Ch.71 ; or will it remain vacant , and its 6MHz of bandwidth be used for digital signals , or will a top channel be moved down to 48, and its 6Mhz be freed up? I think that the highest analog channels are now from Chs 71-74 on most Boston area systems. (Ch.95-99 'midband )

I forsee Verses moving down there. :)

I just got a Samsung DLP, hooked up via HDMI to my Motorola DVR Comcast box. It worked fine for the first few days, and then suddenly, the 802+ channels (in HD) have black bars on the side when the TV mode is set to 16:9.

I went into the setup menus and, while I didn't change any settings, it suddenly started displaying the full picture again. Then later today it stopped, and I have black bars.

Any idea what's going on? It's quite frustrating!

That came out of nowhere. :confused:Maybe, but there is a good bit of merit in the outburst. Some folks are posting a very myopic perspective -- they don't like paying for service, and so they're trying to rationalize their feelings by trying to make the assertion that the company is charging more than they "should" based on that distorted perspective. There are really only two valid perspectives: (1) It's worth it and I'm paying it, or (2) It's not worth it and I'm not paying it. The perspective "It's not worth it, but I'm paying it," indicates irrationality, eh?

I have no idea what people think this thread should be. Personally, I think it should be for things like sharing information about which frequencies the in-the-clear digital channels are broadcast on, information about upcoming services, etc. I also see little logic in using the thread as a personal soap-box to assuage one's bad feelings about paying for something they don't feel is worth it. :rolleyes:

Maybe, but there is a good bit of merit in the outburst. Some folks are posting a very myopic perspective -- they don't like paying for service, and so they're trying to rationalize their feelings by trying to make the assertion that the company is charging more than they "should" based on that distorted perspective. There are really only two valid perspectives: (1) It's worth it and I'm paying it, or (2) It's not worth it and I'm not paying it. The perspective "It's not worth it, but I'm paying it," indicates irrationality, eh?

I have no idea what people think this thread should be. Personally, I think it should be for things like sharing information about which frequencies the in-the-clear digital channels are broadcast on, information about upcoming services, etc. I also see little logic in using the thread as a personal soap-box to assuage one's bad feelings about paying for something they don't feel is worth it. :rolleyes:

I don't know about anyone else but I have found this thread quite useful over the years and still do. Before David merged it into this new thread, the Boston-Comcast was one of the largest in the Local HDTV forum and that says a lot. I have commented many times about what this thread should be about and that is helping each other out and for the most part it still serves that purpose. Yes there are people who complain especially about cost but you will find that in almost every thread and forum and besides thats not what the majority of the post are about. There are also some good people here and ones with insider info like L Supreme and Avic who are generous enough to share some of that knowledge which I'm sure is appreciated by most of us. So I guess what I'm saying is it's really not as bad as some are making it out to be and would encourage all to keep contributing whether it's a positive or negative issue as long as it is related to the intended thread. We are all here with the opportunity to add to any discussion if we so choose, if it's a topic that is bothersome then move on to the next post and maybe you can help answer that particular persons question who will no doubt be very appreciative of your time like others have done for me since I started coming here. Sorry for the rant but felt I needed to respond. :)

I'm thinking about getting an LCD HDTV but I would really like to be able to watch the Sox in HD if I were to get it. The problem is I'm at college in NH and obviously can't get an HD cable box. I do have Comcast cable here though and the channels seem to be exactly the same as at home in MA. Is there any chance of me being able to get NESN-HD with a QAM tuner? It sounds like it's probably encrypted since NESN-HD is going to be it's own channel instead of switching with INHD or whatever on channel 882, right? Did anyone get NESN-HD over QAM last year?

Look, some of us here are sick and tired of being shafted by the raising cable rates, which are not in parallel with inflation. Do not get me wrong, I enjoy the services Comcast has had to offered, and has enjoyed them for many years, but had I had another option I would be using it. I am not the only one who shares that opinion. If people call that "thread crapping" or "bitchfest", so be it. I feel it is OK to voice these opinions in this thread, it is relatively harmless, and can be somewhat productive if channeled properly.

I've been a long time user of the forum, and there are Comcast representatives viewing these threads at times, and while they might not be participate on the forum, they have contacted individuals on a regular basis and helped fix/repair longtime problems. In my particular case I had problems with wiring in my building for almost 10yrs, and it took me discovering this forum and complaining for years of poor reception in this thread for someone locally at Comcast engineering to take note (right place, right time) and bring a crew over and resolve my problem. Local tech support did nothing.

So complaining on this forum can accomplish things, even if Comcast remains very quiet. I only wish there was more competition, it would motivate Comcast a little more.

Thanks Afty,

Based on what you've mentioned it would follow that Discovery HD is encrypted, yes?

Cheers.

I'm thinking about getting an LCD HDTV but I would really like to be able to watch the Sox in HD if I were to get it. The problem is I'm at college in NH and obviously can't get an HD cable box. I do have Comcast cable here though and the channels seem to be exactly the same as at home in MA. Is there any chance of me being able to get NESN-HD with a QAM tuner? It sounds like it's probably encrypted since NESN-HD is going to be it's own channel instead of switching with INHD or whatever on channel 882, right? Did anyone get NESN-HD over QAM last year?

No you will need a box, NESN is not available over QAM but you will be able to get the locals in HD if thats any consolation. There also is no more 882 so that would not have made a difference anyways because that was encrypted as well.

I'm thinking about getting an LCD HDTV but I would really like to be able to watch the Sox in HD if I were to get it. The problem is I'm at college in NH and obviously can't get an HD cable box. I do have Comcast cable here though and the channels seem to be exactly the same as at home in MA. Is there any chance of me being able to get NESN-HD with a QAM tuner? It sounds like it's probably encrypted since NESN-HD is going to be it's own channel instead of switching with INHD or whatever on channel 882, right? Did anyone get NESN-HD over QAM last year?

Nope you need wither a box or cable card. The cabole card turns the QAM tuner into a virtual box. mapping NESN HD on channel 851.

Ask the college about a box.

I'm not complaining much about any increases in costs.

My sister's Cox bill went up around $25 a month for the same services.

My net increases are only $3.70 (and that includes Digital phone) the legacy service.

Nope you need wither a box or cable card. The cabole card turns the QAM tuner into a virtual box. mapping NESN HD on channel 851.

Ask the college about a box.


So if I were to buy an HD box online or something (I'm pretty sure my school doesn't have them available), I would be able to watch NESN HD and ESPN HD, even though I can't pay for the HD service? I thought you had to pay extra for the HD service. Also I found this information about Cable Cards:
Cable Card - Usually provided by your local service provider. Card enables the "cable card ready" TV to view unencrypted cable channels without the use of a set top box.

So that means that I still wouldn't get NESN HD because it's encrypted right?

So if I were to buy an HD box online or something (I'm pretty sure my school doesn't have them available), I would be able to watch NESN HD and ESPN HD, even though I can't pay for the HD service? I thought you had to pay extra for the HD service. Also I found this information about Cable Cards:
Cable Card - Usually provided by your local service provider. Card enables the "cable card ready" TV to view unencrypted cable channels without the use of a set top box.

So that means that I still wouldn't get NESN HD because it's encrypted right?

Cable cards decrypt encrypted channels you subscribe to and map them to the same channel designation as a box.
you CAN NOT BUY boxes only lease then .(as of now)

HD locals are unencrypted and would come in on a QAM tuner - somewhere.

As the school about a box. If they say no box then NO NESN HD for you. :(

So if I were to buy an HD box online or something (I'm pretty sure my school doesn't have them available), I would be able to watch NESN HD and ESPN HD, even though I can't pay for the HD service? I thought you had to pay extra for the HD service. Also I found this information about Cable Cards:
Cable Card - Usually provided by your local service provider. Card enables the "cable card ready" TV to view unencrypted cable channels without the use of a set top box.

So that means that I still wouldn't get NESN HD because it's encrypted right?

You would need to have one of the Digital tiers to get NESN HD & ESPN YD and if your living in a dorm this might not be possible. I would bypass the college and call the local Comcast office who would probably be better at having an answer for you. My own guess is if it is part of your tuition that you receive the cable service then you will only get what the school agreeded to with Comcast and you will probably not be able to receive any encrypted channels thru their system.

Thanks Afty,

Based on what you've mentioned it would follow that Discovery HD is encrypted, yes?

Cheers.
That's correct. You'll need a box or a CableCard to receive it.

Look, some of us here are sick and tired of being shafted by the raising cable rates, which are not in parallel with inflation.Regardless of whether or not that is true, it is irrelevant. Nothing is going to come of bitching about that here. Do you want to know what HD channels Comcast offers in my area? I can help you with that. Do you want to know which firmware version my DVR is at? I can help you with that. There is nothing anyone in this thread can do to help you with your financial concerns. That's really the point I believe ScoopsHD was making.

If people call that "thread crapping" or "bitchfest", so be it. I feel it is OK to voice these opinions in this threadAnd don't get me wrong: I agree. If you want to fill the thread with that sort of thing, go ahead. I just don't think it makes any sense to do so, and it definitely degrades the signal-to-noise ratio in the thread.

I've been a long time user of the forum, and there are Comcast representatives viewing these threads at timesAt best, it is the Comcast folks who are least able to do anything about pricing... it's probably mostly Comcast techs, CSRs, and such. They're as much at the mercy of pricing as we customers are. The people responsible for pricing, if they're doing their jobs correctly (and I believe they are) are keeping their eyes on normalized sources of data, not Internet forums.

Look, some of us here are sick and tired of being shafted by the raising cable rates, which are not in parallel with inflation. Do not get me wrong, I enjoy the services Comcast has had to offered, and has enjoyed them for many years, but had I had another option I would be using it. I am not the only one who shares that opinion. If people call that "thread crapping" or "bitchfest", so be it. I feel it is OK to voice these opinions in this thread, it is relatively harmless, and can be somewhat productive if channeled properly.

I've been a long time user of the forum, and there are Comcast representatives viewing these threads at times, and while they might not be participate on the forum, they have contacted individuals on a regular basis and helped fix/repair longtime problems. In my particular case I had problems with wiring in my building for almost 10yrs, and it took me discovering this forum and complaining for years of poor reception in this thread for someone locally at Comcast engineering to take note (right place, right time) and bring a crew over and resolve my problem. Local tech support did nothing.

So complaining on this forum can accomplish things, even if Comcast remains very quiet. I only wish there was more competition, it would motivate Comcast a little more.


Mostly agreed.

Non-informative thread-crapping doesn't serve a purpose. Pointless flailing will get nothing accomplished except increasing a user's post count. Comcast isn't listening, so anyone considering posting a thread-crap might as well save their breath.

However, bitching about service, pricing, packages can serve a purpose. Suppose someone is considering their alternatives for TV service. They're looking for opinions about what level of service they'll get, and what they can expect for their money. They can compare the relative merits and/or bitches concerning Comcast (versus DirecTV, say) and make an informed decision based on the bitches of those who post such things here.

I tried to access my recordings on my DVR tonight and I get nothing but a blank screen. Did this happen to anyone else? I am going to try a reboot and see if I can get them back but I find this very strange since it has never happened before.

I tried to access my recordings on my DVR tonight and I get nothing but a blank screen. Did this happen to anyone else? I am going to try a reboot and see if I can get them back but I find this very strange since it has never happened before.
Looks like a software push from TV Guide screwed up the menu.

Powercycling should help for at least a while. You should still be able to get to the DVR recordings through the Quick Menu. I can't imagine this will last too long.

Looks like a software push from TV Guide screwed up the menu.

Powercycling should help for at least a while. You should still be able to get to the DVR recordings through the Quick Menu. I can't imagine this will last too long.

This happened to me as well, no recording on my dvr menu unless I go through the main menu.

-Ken

After I rebooted, all is working fine again.

I find it troubling that the term "reboot" ever has to be used in conjunction with a home entertainment system, but I guess the fact that it's a "home entertainment system" rather than just a "stereo" or "TV" should have been some clue that BSODs are coming to a TV set near you.

Cable cards decrypt encrypted channels you subscribe to and map them to the same channel designation as a box.
you CAN NOT BUY boxes only lease then .(as of now)
:(
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-DCP501-Home-Theater-System/dp/B00008ZPJN
If you want to buy a cable box legitimately you can, they're just a bit heavy, literally. If you look at this cable box you might find it is quite impressive...and last I checked it used the same firmware as the DCT2xxx series settop so chances are your cable company supports it. As I mentioned previously, you should really do some research before you make statements that are erroneous. Someone might just value your lesser informed opinion and then make a decision they didn't really want to make. Even worse, they might pass along the misinformation.

http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-DCP501-Home-Theater-System/dp/B00008ZPJN
If you want to buy a cable box legitimately you can, they're just a bit heavy, literally. If you look at this cable box you might find it is quite impressive...and last I checked it used the same firmware as the DCT2xxx series settop so chances are your cable company supports it. As I mentioned previously, you should really do some research before you make statements that are erroneous. Someone might just value your lesser informed opinion and then make a decision they didn't really want to make. Even worse, they might pass along the misinformation.

but will comcast authorize it?

but will comcast authorize it?

Yes, but its a long process to authorize.

I tried to access my recordings on my DVR tonight and I get nothing but a blank screen. Did this happen to anyone else? I am going to try a reboot and see if I can get them back but I find this very strange since it has never happened before.This has happened to me twice now in the past two days. Rebooting fixed things, but I was surprised that it happened twice to begin with.

Yes, but its a long process to authorize.What do you mean by "long process"? My understanding is that Comcast in the US won't authorize private boxes. They offer CableCard technology for customers who want to own their own boxes.

What do you mean by "long process"? My understanding is that Comcast in the US won't authorize private boxes. They offer CableCard technology for customers who want to own their own boxes.
...And reluctantly, they only offer CableCard because it is mandated by law.

I tried to access my recordings on my DVR tonight and I get nothing but a blank screen. Did this happen to anyone else? I am going to try a reboot and see if I can get them back but I find this very strange since it has never happened before.

I get a blank screen when I push the "My DVR" button, but if I press "OK" I then get to the listing of recordings as normal.

I get a blank screen when I push the "My DVR" button, but if I press "OK" I then get to the listing of recordings as normal.

Same here.

I was having the same issues mentioned above with the "My DVR" menu not showing anything, but things seemed to have corrected themselves since mine was back to normal as of this morning.

I was having the same issues mentioned above with the "My DVR" menu not showing anything, but things seemed to have corrected themselves since mine was back to normal as of this morning.

same issue with mine last night, I re-booted the DVR (unplugged for 30 sec) and it went back to normal

On another note...anyone else notice a lip synch issue with HD-CBS? It was bad for me last night during CSI NY and the program that preceeded it as well. all other channels seems fine to me...CBS was way off though

After I rebooted, all is working fine again.

I have had problems as well. A rebooting seemed to do the trick. In my case,I left the box unplugged (but still connected to the cable system) for 90 minutes.

Thank goodness for CableCard, glad I haven't had to deal with all of these stupid cable box issues as of late. What does it take for a company to develop a well-designed cable box???

A lot more money.

Thank goodness for CableCard, glad I haven't had to deal with all of these stupid cable box issues as of late. What does it take for a company to develop a well-designed cable box???

I liked the cablecard, in fact I thought it had the best PQ of all the devices. But with no recording capability I felt it was a major drawback and ended up going with the DVR and have been quite satisfied since. Yes they have issues but unless it's a total crash, their really quite minor and I can easily deal with it's few shortcomings.

Me as well, the PQ is great.

but will comcast authorize it?
I'm certain that if you called and asked you'd then be informed.

What do you mean by "long process"? My understanding is that Comcast in the US won't authorize private boxes. They offer CableCard technology for customers who want to own their own boxes.
All a cable company can do is identify whether or not they support a settop box. If they do and you legally own the box then they are required to support it.

What do you mean by "long process"? My understanding is that Comcast in the US won't authorize private boxes. They offer CableCard technology for customers who want to own their own boxes.

The DCP 501 is the only one that can be authorized. The reason why no other boxes can be authorized are because they are stolen. The DCP-501 is the only box sold to consumers.

I liked the cablecard, in fact I thought it had the best PQ of all the devices. But with no recording capability I felt it was a major drawback and ended up going with the DVR and have been quite satisfied since. Yes they have issues but unless it's a total crash, their really quite minor and I can easily deal with it's few shortcomings.
I agree. Just got a 3416 and enjoy the ease of recording and play back. Plus, I kept the cablecard and normally use it, as the picture does seem better.

All a cable company can do is identify whether or not they support a settop box. If they do and you legally own the box then they are required to support it.Sorry, but that's totally untrue. The only thing they're legally obligated to support is equipment they themselves provide, including CableCards for use in other consumer electronics.

The DCP 501 is the only one that can be authorized. The reason why no other boxes can be authorized are because they are stolen. The DCP-501 is the only box sold to consumers.Thanks for the clarification. That makes sense.

When I first got my TV I made a direct connection from the wall and I was able to map some channels that I don't get w/cable card. One in particular is CH 38 HD which is now a non issue but was when the Red Sox was on 38. Another is a channel called The Tube; never heard of it before but pretty cool if you like music; 24/7 with no commercials. If these are sent unencrypted why can't Comcast authorize the CC or STB to pick them up?

When I first got my TV I made a direct connection from the wall and I was able to map some channels that I don't get w/cable card. One in particular is CH 38 HD which is now a non issue but was when the Red Sox was on 38. Another is a channel called The Tube; never heard of it before but pretty cool if you like music; 24/7 with no commercials. If these are sent unencrypted why can't Comcast authorize the CC or STB to pick them up?

WSBK HD is mapped to channel 838 on CableCards and STB's.
WLVI The Tube is mapped to channel 296.

WSBK HD is mapped to channel 838 on CableCards and STB's.
WLVI The Tube is mapped to channel 296.

That is not the case here in Easton (Bristol County). Those channels do not map with CC.

That is not the case here in Easton (Bristol County). Those channels do not map with CC.

The only thing I can think of is Bristol County is considered part of the Providence TV market and Comcast isn't obligated to pass along these 2 channels. But the fact that they are in the clear without a box or CableCard definitely confuses me.
Does anyone else have any ideas for Contsi?

I know when the sox was on 38 this was an issue here in BC but does anyone know if it was in the clear and are these coming from a different Comcast transmission station.

Sorry, but that's totally untrue. The only thing they're legally obligated to support is equipment they themselves provide, including CableCards for use in other consumer electronics.
I'm not here to challenge, merely to inform. I will challenge if prompted, so, your lesser informed opinion is wrong - and I stress lesser informed. Furthermore, I never stated anything with regard to legal obligation. If one were to purchase a DCP-501, presently CC will add it to their billing system at your request, tag it as purchased equipment (not rented) and address it with the tier of services to which you subscribe. Once they drop support for their DCT-2000 platform the device would then no longer work. If you'd like to learn more about cable systems feel free to pm me. I'd be happy to answer any questions which I am able to answer.

I know when the sox was on 38 this was an issue here in BC but does anyone know if it was in the clear and are these coming from a different Comcast transmission station.
Must Carry rules and DMA compliance dictate whether MSO's can transmit certain broadcaster signals in specific areas. Consider the following: In Massachusetts, WCVB5 ABC is the primary Boston ABC affiliate, whereas WMUR9 ABC is the New Hampshire ABC affiliate. Both are carried in many areas of each state. Although both are considered to be located within the same DMA there is no contest of DMA visibility as both stations are owned by Hearst-Argyle, or at least this is what I believe to be the basis for why both are available in some areas despite the fact that they are two independant broadcasts of ABC originated content. On the other hand, in Rhode Island WLNE6 ABC is owned by Freedom Communications and therefore WLNE would want to preserve rights of market to ensure their advertising purchasers get the visibility WLNE would claim to provide for their advertisements. If WCVB5 ABC were to be transmitted by an MSO in Rhode Island there would be 1) Violation of DMA rules and 2) a basis for contest on behalf of WLNE to claim that the MSO was violating DMA rules. If there were no ABC broadcaster in Rhode Island I believe the cable MSO could transmit that particular broadcaster without violation. Ultimately, the MSO must configure their transmission system in accordance with Must Carry and DMA rules.

I'm not here to challenge, merely to inform. We're talking past each other. You're talking about "what would work" connected to their system, and I'm talking about what their legal obligations are with regard to supporting equipment other than what they themselves provide you. I'll grant that you know more about the hardcore technical details of what works connected to what, but not the legal side of things.

Must Carry rules and DMA compliance dictate whether MSO's can transmit certain broadcaster signals in specific areas. Consider the following: In Massachusetts, WCVB5 ABC is the primary Boston ABC affiliate, whereas WMUR9 ABC is the New Hampshire ABC affiliate. Both are carried in many areas of each state. Although both are considered to be located within the same DMA there is no contest of DMA visibility as both stations are owned by Hearst-Argyle, or at least this is what I believe to be the basis for why both are available in some areas despite the fact that they are two independant broadcasts of ABC originated content. On the other hand, in Rhode Island WLNE6 ABC is owned by Freedom Communications and therefore WLNE would want to preserve rights of market to ensure their advertising purchasers get the visibility WLNE would claim to provide for their advertisements. If WCVB5 ABC were to be transmitted by an MSO in Rhode Island there would be 1) Violation of DMA rules and 2) a basis for contest on behalf of WLNE to claim that the MSO was violating DMA rules. If there were no ABC broadcaster in Rhode Island I believe the cable MSO could transmit that particular broadcaster without violation. Ultimately, the MSO must configure their transmission system in accordance with Must Carry and DMA rules.

Thanks for the explanation; but my original quetion (post # 197) was, if I can plug the cable directly into the TV and receive a particular channel, why is the cable card not authorized to receive it?

I live in briatol County too, do not get SBK-HD or The Tube with 5100 HD Box or the Moto SD box on other sets. If I can get WLVI-HD in Bristol County , why is Tube, subchannel of WLVI not alivable? Also, when will A&E -HD be here in Boston area? Other Comcast systems have it now.Comcast, move a few analog channels to digital to open up band width...

I think the bandwidth is available on my system in here Burlington, but we don't have A&E HD yet because --- because we don't. They haven't published a promised schedule date for adding that channel to all systems.

Thanks for the explanation; but my original quetion (post # 197) was, if I can plug the cable directly into the TV and receive a particular channel, why is the cable card not authorized to receive it?
Looking at their channel lineup, TubeTV is part of Basic Broadcast tier and therefore a digital settop box should be able to receive that program at even its most basic level of authorization, similarly with a CC. If you are not receiving the channel on your digital settop box or CC I would call and ask why. "The program is available via the air and you carry it in your transmission, why isn't it on my settop's digital basic tier?" You might find that the reality is that they are not required to "Must Carry" local digital channels and can therefore tier the service in with something else such as music, although if that were the case then that is a contradiction to what their lineup indicates. Nonetheless, I am pretty certain an MSO is not supposed to encrypt local broadcast channels and complying with that type of condition would be supportive of why you see the channel cable direct.

I live in briatol County too, do not get SBK-HD or The Tube with 5100 HD Box or the Moto SD box on other sets. If I can get WLVI-HD in Bristol County , why is Tube, subchannel of WLVI not alivable? Also, when will A&E -HD be here in Boston area? Other Comcast systems have it now.Comcast, move a few analog channels to digital to open up band width...
This would likely be based on bandwidth availability or should I say, the lack thereof. Not required to carry - no available bandwidth for the channel - program not carried.

Hello Everyone,
I currently live in central Massachusetts and decided to make a switch from DTV to Comcast .
Ok well at first I was very happy with Direct tv, but after 400.00 worth of equip was purchased in early FEB 2006 ( I got my firsy HDTV) and had it installed from DTV the issues began. I found out that the 3 LMB dish and HD reciever they sold me was now obsoloete a month later as it was MPEG 2 and they now need MPEG 4. I called and asked why my locals were not in HD and they replied i needed to upgrade to 5LMB which was 129.00 for the install and the dish would cost extra, and the equiptment was 600-800 JUST TO LEASE IT for an HD DVR. Next I have had terrible service with the VERIZON DSL, at least 3 times a week i have to recycle the modem and re enter my modem info and I was paying for 3.0/386 only to realize after a tech test its only getting 1.5/355 so that made me very unhappy as well. The last part is that the Verizon phone bill has been higher and higher for some reason. So out of frustration of previous services (at first called about internet only) They sold me on a new HD DVR bundle which sounded awesome, for me anyway.
This is the deal i am getting
DSL 8mg/386 or 786 (forgot that one)
HD DVR with EVERY CHANNEL they offer, ALL premiums
Phones
all for 167.00 with a 1 year price guarantee NO contracts at all but guaranteed for 1 FULL year

Now here is where you guys that have it come in, maybe you have had DTV and could compare.
1. HOW IS THE COMCAST HDTV picture quality
2.The rep said the locals are all in HDTV all day long, yet I read some post that say its each channel so whats the answer.
3.Are the non HDTV channels pixleated? and does it look decent? or close to satellite and is it in 480p? I had direct tv and they have 480p channels and some are bad but overall it was decent.
4.Are the channels now 5.1? I had comcast a few years back before i swithed and they didnt offer 5.1
5.Does it support HDMI output? and if so does it make a better image that component?
Thats all i got for now and i apprieciate the help, you guys seem to know your stuff. :D

This would likely be based on bandwidth availability or should I say, the lack thereof. Not required to carry - no available bandwidth for the channel - program not carried.

Other than "not required to cary" how are the others a factor if I can receive without the cable card? (direct connection).

Hello Everyone,
I currently live in central Massachusetts and decided to make a switch from DTV to Comcast .
Ok well at first I was very happy with Direct tv, but after 400.00 worth of equip was purchased in early FEB 2006 ( I got my firsy HDTV) and had it installed from DTV the issues began. I found out that the 3 LMB dish and HD reciever they sold me was now obsoloete a month later as it was MPEG 2 and they now need MPEG 4. I called and asked why my locals were not in HD and they replied i needed to upgrade to 5LMB which was 129.00 for the install and the dish would cost extra, and the equiptment was 600-800 JUST TO LEASE IT for an HD DVR. Next I have had terrible service with the VERIZON DSL, at least 3 times a week i have to recycle the modem and re enter my modem info and I was paying for 3.0/386 only to realize after a tech test its only getting 1.5/355 so that made me very unhappy as well. The last part is that the Verizon phone bill has been higher and higher for some reason. So out of frustration of previous services (at first called about internet only) They sold me on a new HD DVR bundle which sounded awesome, for me anyway.
This is the deal i am getting


DSL 8mg/386 or 786 (forgot that one)
HD DVR with EVERY CHANNEL they offer, ALL premiums
Phones
all for 167.00 with a 1 year price guarantee NO contracts at all but guaranteed for 1 FULL year

Now here is where you guys that have it come in, maybe you have had DTV and could compare.
1. HOW IS THE COMCAST HDTV picture quality
2.The rep said the locals are all in HDTV all day long, yet I read some post that say its each channel so whats the answer.
3.Are the non HDTV channels pixleated? and does it look decent? or close to satellite and is it in 480p? I had direct tv and they have 480p channels and some are bad but overall it was decent.
4.Are the channels now 5.1? I had comcast a few years back before i swithed and they didnt offer 5.1
5.Does it support HDMI output? and if so does it make a better image that component?
Thats all i got for now and i apprieciate the help, you guys seem to know your stuff. :D

You will not regret your decision. I went from D* to Comast like yourself over 3 years ago and can tell you the HD PQ on Comcast is much better. As for SD channels, I would say that since Comcast went ADS, their about even. For HDMI, the Moto 3416 DVR has it and I think will give you the overall best PQ. The HD channels are broadcast in a Hi-Def resolution ( 1080i or 720p ) all the time but if the source material being shown isn't in HD then you will get just an upconvert of that particular program. 5.1 is available and that also depends on the source material as well but I believe all the Moto boxes come with a digital output now. I hope this helped answer some of your questions.

1. HOW IS THE COMCAST HDTV picture qualityHere in Metro North, it's better than satellite, and even better than OTA (because WFXT-HD is still low power.)

2.The rep said the locals are all in HDTV all day long, yet I read some post that say its each channel so whats the answer.All the locals here are broadcast in HD all day long, but the programming may or may not be HD.

3.Are the non HDTV channels pixleated? and does it look decent? or close to satellite and is it in 480p?All the HD channels are either 720p or 1080i and they all look great.

4.Are the channels now 5.1? I had comcast a few years back before i swithed and they didnt offer 5.1I definitely get DD5.1, though again, some channels/programs may or may not present DD5.1.

5.Does it support HDMI output? and if so does it make a better image that component?I alternatively use my HDMI connection and component video, and don't notice any appreciable difference.

So it seems that its not a bad move for me afterall. Im glad to hear the quality is the same or better and everything I wanted is being met. Thank You all for your info its very much apprieciated and I will have it all instaled march 7th due to a 9 day wait in phone service swapping.

Can anyone tell me what the latest Comcast stanelone HD box model number is, the non-dvr one. The local Comcast CSR said they dont lease they anymore is that true?

Thanks

Can anyone tell me what the latest Comcast stanelone HD box model number is, the non-dvr one. The local Comcast CSR said they dont lease they anymore is that true?

Thanks

Newest HD box is the 6200. Comcast, for the moment, is no longer giving out HD boxes unless someone returns one. FCC mandates that all future boxes have removable encryption (cable card). Because of this Motorola ceased making the current HD stb, causing a major shortage/cease in leasing HD boxes.

Look to be able to get a HD box until mid Summer. For what its worth, the new HD box will have a HDMI output. I believe the model is either a DCH3200 or DCH6200.

I got an email from a friend who also lives in Andover saying that they were no longer getting the HD local stations on their QAM tuner. So, I checked mine & saw the same thing. Does anyone know if this was intentional by the cable provider, or do I have to rescan to find the channels at some new locations? Their website says that you need a STB to get the local channels, but it has always said that & I never needed it in the past.

I got an email from a friend who also lives in Andover saying that they were no longer getting the HD local stations on their QAM tuner. So, I checked mine & saw the same thing. Does anyone know if this was intentional by the cable provider, or do I have to rescan to find the channels at some new locations? Their website says that you need a STB to get the local channels, but it has always said that & I never needed it in the past.

If your provider is Comcast, they pass thru all the local HD channels and you should be able to receive them on your QAM tuner. I would try a rescan like you said and see if they reappear.

If your provider is Comcast, they pass thru all the local HD channels and you should be able to receive them on your QAM tuner. I would try a rescan like you said and see if they reappear.

I was hoping to avoid a total rescan since I would have to relabel almost all the channels, reset my favorites & delete the ones that I am not interested in.

The optimist in me is expecting someone to post that WGBH is now at channel something, WHDH is at channel whatever, etc. That way I have to make only minimal changes for the stations that have actually moved.

The pessimist in me is expecting to find out that Comcast will no longer have these channels unscrambled without a box.

The realist in me will probably end up rescanning. :)

As I understand the law, Comcast must offer the locals unscrambled. So that much probably won't be an issue.

But, that's not to say that they can't move them around every other week, forcing you to rescan, and otherwise being a total pain in the patoot with it if they want to.

As I understand the law, Comcast must offer the locals unscrambled.However, the law requires them to offer the locals unscrambled via analog. The law does not require both provision of both the analog and digital signals in-the-clear. Comcast corporate policy, however, does indicate that they intend to provide that, even though they're not required to do so. Most, but not all, Comcast systems comply with that policy.

The optimist in me is expecting someone to post that WGBH is now at channel something, WHDH is at channel whatever, etc. That way I have to make only minimal changes for the stations that have actually moved.


They moved the local digital channels to their actual frequency: WGBH-HD is at 2.2, WHDH-HD is at 7.1, etc.

They moved the local digital channels to their actual frequency: WGBH-HD is at 2.2, WHDH-HD is at 7.1, etc.

Just found the same in Milford. I'm not sure if their done yet, WFXT HD has moved from 87-1 to 87 ? If it followed the logic of 38 and 56 it should have gone to 25-1.

I'm new to this thread though I've been using Comcast 6412 for a couple of years on the South Shore. I have a question about WSBK-38. I'm a big time soccer fan and was trying to understand what is required for 838 to broadcast NE Revolution games in HD. The games are shot in HD by Kraft Sports Productions so the initial signal is there. 838 is transmitting a full HD signal. What happens in between? Is it expensive, complex, inertia or something else that causes the signal degradation? Thanks for any insight.

Comcast didn't "move" anything. What they did was finally get PSIP working and your TV set now recognizes the PSIP data and renames the channel accordingly.

Mallego

I like the new PSIP. Makes finding channels on my Fusion much easier. But WFXT has the right name but still doesn't have correct number. Hope they add it soon.

Other than "not required to cary" how are the others a factor if I can receive without the cable card? (direct connection).
I'm pretty certain that Easton is part of the Providence DMA. Your cable system might very well be served by a facility that services both Boston and Providence DMA's. If this is the case then you'd likely find services that are offered for the Boston DMA on your antenna. Looking at the channel lineup for Easton using the CC website and specifying the firehouse on Bay Rd as the location address, I find that TubeTV is not offered and therefore you wouldn't be able to receive it via settop or cablecard, but it apparently is on the antenna as you find it cable direct. Make sense?

I'm pretty certain that Easton is part of the Providence DMA. Your cable system might very well be served by a facility that services both Boston and Providence DMA's. If this is the case then you'd likely find services that are offered for the Boston DMA on your antenna. Looking at the channel lineup for Easton using the CC website and specifying the firehouse on Bay Rd as the location address, I find that TubeTV is not offered and therefore you wouldn't be able to receive it via settop or cablecard, but it apparently is on the antenna as you find it cable direct. Make sense?

Just to be clear, I don't have an antenna, I'm using Comcast cable direct in. But what is the disadvantage for Comcast to offer this on the CC if it is coming in anyway? I acctually called yesterday and the CSR didn't even know that I could get HD without a box and some kind of special service; I had to eplain CC and channel mapping etc. I kept him on for a while and he finally said he will submit a form to add the channels; I won't hold my breath.

Just to be clear, I don't have an antenna, I'm using Comcast cable direct in. But what is the disadvantage for Comcast to offer this on the CC if it is coming in anyway? I acctually called yesterday and the CSR didn't even know that I could get HD without a box and some kind of special service; I had to eplain CC and channel mapping etc. I kept him on for a while and he finally said he will submit a form to add the channels; I won't hold my breath.
Sorry, I make reference to antenna and CATV synonymously. Old world cable (community antenna tele-vision).

For the first time last night just for the hell of it while on WBZ-DT I pressed "Info" on my TV's remote and actually got progam info. Heh. and it was on an infomercial too.

I thought tonights Red Sox Spring training opener was supposed to be broadcast in HD. The guide says so. Very disappointed!

Just found the same in Milford. I'm not sure if their done yet, WFXT HD has moved from 87-1 to 87 ? If it followed the logic of 38 and 56 it should have gone to 25-1.

I cannot seem to get WFXT-HD to save on my Panny using the QAM tuner. When I enter in "87", it switches to WBZ-HD.

I'm wondering if Comcast is trying to force all of using QAM to get STBs.

I did discover a new channel during my scan though. 110-10 is FOX REALITY.

The REALITY is that I'd rather have FOX-HD. :(

I cannot seem to get WFXT-HD to save on my Panny using the QAM tuner. When I enter in "87", it switches to WBZ-HD.

I'm wondering if Comcast is trying to force all of using QAM to get STBs.

I did discover a new channel during my scan though. 110-10 is FOX REALITY.

The REALITY is that I'd rather have FOX-HD. :(

I've also got a Panny, and I've seen that problem. Here's what works for me ...

I did a auto scan yesterday before anyone had posted the new numbers. Then when I went in and manually turned off channels I didn't want to receive, I noticed WFXT-HD showing up before channel 1 ? Odd. After some trial and error I told the tuner to allow the channel to tune at that weird location and not tune at 87. This way it allows me to manually input 87 and get the channel.
Hope that helps.

After some trial and error I told the tuner to allow the channel to tune at that weird location and not tune at 87. This way it allows me to manually input 87 and get the channel.
Hope that helps.

Does tham mean you said "No" to "87" and yes to "1" or "--" location on your manual scan selection?

and once you set this then you input "87"?

Thanks for the info, I'll give it a try.

My Samsung TV reacts the same way, and I can't program a channel manually, so in order to get WFXT-DT to show up I have to rescan all the channels all over again.

When someone gets WFXT-DT to show up on a channel scan please post and I'll redo a scan.

Does tham mean you said "No" to "87" and yes to "1" or "--" location on your manual scan selection?

and once you set this then you input "87"?

Thanks for the info, I'll give it a try.

Yup, that's how it's working on my Panny. I have to manually enter 87, channel up or down doesn't find it.

The PSIP for WFXT shows 0.0 on my HDHomeRun GUI. Maybe that's why it's all messed up on QAM TVs?

Argh! I just cannot seem to receive WFXT-DT on my Samsung at all. I can get everything else just fine though.

Oh, and on a cool note, WBZ-DT is indeed sending out metadata info on their programming, so if your TV can do it, hit the "INFO" button and you should get program info. Letterman displays, "Late Show With David Letterman" right on the screen.

We really need to get the WFXT-DT problem fixed though. I'd call it into Comcast if I thought it would matter, but I know it wouldn't. Maybe they'll report it to an engineer or something?

My RCA finds 49 channels here in Nashua, but once finished, only gives me 0.0... trying to use the up and down buttons do nothing. Before the change, all channels were accessible, but now I can ONLY see WFXT-HD. The other channels can only be accessed by manually choosing them, and any attempt to save them to the TV results in a loss of video on both analog and digital, requiring a hard reset of the TV.

My Sylvania 6637lct does not have this issue, but for some reason I cannot get the digital equivalents of 9 or 11 at all. Prior to the change both were accessible on the RCA. I hate being forced to see only Boston news... can't get anything local now.

Has anyone been able to get a 3416 DVR recently? I have made a few tries at the Lowell office, but they only have the 3412 (which is what I have -- I would like the larger hard drive), with no knowledge of when they might get some more 3416's in. The rep I spoke to today said they haven't had 3416's for several months.

According to comcast.com, the only other office I can try is Wilmington -- has anyone had any luck there? I wish you could call these offices directly..

Has anyone been able to get a 3416 DVR recently? I have made a few tries at the Lowell office, but they only have the 3412 (which is what I have -- I would like the larger hard drive), with no knowledge of when they might get some more 3416's in. The rep I spoke to today said they haven't had 3416's for several months.

According to comcast.com, the only other office I can try is Wilmington -- has anyone had any luck there? I wish you could call these offices directly..
Yes, 23 days ago. Not an exchange as I was using cablecard and took them up on the triple play.

WFXT-DT just came on. My Samsung identifies it as 25-1 "WFXT Fi" but definitely shows it as HD.

Hey guys,
I have another quick question. As you may have read before Im new to Comcast and its being installed next wed and i left D* for Digital Cable package. I have the option to use a Cablecard in my HDTV with Comcast and from what i gather you only lose the on demand features, is that the only thing you lose or is it limited HDTV/tv channels? And which is better quality? I want the best PQ possible and wanted to know pros and cons on both. I also want to know if you can get both for your TV from the company or not? and Would it be needed, or an option? I am already getting an HD DVR on wed and wanted to know if i can use the cablecard for pic in pic or as an option as well (or just use a split adapter and use coax in ). If i do use a splitter or CC then will it take away from the picture quality? Meaning the more its split with cable does the tv image decrease , like with satellite . I have little info about Comcast and the cablecard. Thank you you all have been very helpful and im really looking forward to getting my locals in HD and a HD DVR as well

My understanding is that the DCTx4xx boxes are in very short supply now, and that supply is not only decreasing but will not be replenished. (DCTs are no longer being manufactured.) Comcast should be getting the new DCHx4xx boxes by mid-year, and things should loosen up by then.

Hey guys,
I have another quick question. As you may have read before Im new to Comcast and its being installed next wed and i left D* for Digital Cable package. I have the option to use a Cablecard in my HDTV with Comcast and from what i gather you only lose the on demand features, is that the only thing you lose or is it limited HDTV/tv channels? And which is better quality? I want the best PQ possible and wanted to know pros and cons on both. I also want to know if you can get both for your TV from the company or not? and Would it be needed, or an option? I am already getting an HD DVR on wed and wanted to know if i can use the cablecard for pic in pic or as an option as well (or just use a split adapter and use coax in ). If i do use a splitter or CC then will it take away from the picture quality? Meaning the more its split with cable does the tv image decrease , like with satellite . I have little info about Comcast and the cablecard. Thank you you all have been very helpful and im really looking forward to getting my locals in HD and a HD DVR as well
You shouldn't run into a problem requesting settop and cablecard. If you do, tell them they are on seperate sets. Picture quality is generally not affected with splitters except in those instances where the signal is decreased and becomes too weak for the settop or tv tuner to lock onto the RF QAM carrier. In those types of cases your picture will tile or freeze intermittently or lose lock entirely which would result in no picture at all. As for lost functionality, cablecard will allow you to receive the programs you subscribe to but does not allow TV Guide data to be displayed on the set such as what you have for guide data on a settop. PSIP (program specific information protocol) info from local broadcast stations should be displayed, so you should see " Wwww-HD UPNnn - Jerry Springer - Tramps running wild - 9:30am - 10:30am" or something of that nature instead of TV Guide. OnDemand will not work with Cablecard. PIP is limited to your televisions capabilities. Picture "Quality" differences with Cablecard vs. settop are dependant on the conversion process. A Cablecard TV performs the conversion process to HD entirely and the Cablecard itself only has the role of decrypting programs and mapping channels. So if you have a nice set that was manufactured well then you could see a better picture on the set with Cablecard vs. settop RGB/HDMI/DVI out. Generally you see differences in SD picture quality which are affected by upconversion. The tv may upconvert better than the settop box or vice-versa.

WFXT-DT just came on. My Samsung identifies it as 25-1 "WFXT Fi" but definitely shows it as HD.

I just checked, and my tuner also found it. This will make channel flipping a little easier.

I just checked, and my tuner also found it. This will make channel flipping a little easier.
Number9
Did you have to do a rescan to find Fox-HD on 25-1? I believe Milford and Hopkinton are the same exact cable system with the exception the local govt channels. I still was getting Fox-HD on 87-1 as of last night. I should probably go ahead and do a rescan anyway.

Number9
Did you have to do a rescan to find Fox-HD on 25-1? I believe Milford and Hopkinton are the same exact cable system with the exception the local govt channels. I still was getting Fox-HD on 87-1 as of last night. I should probably go ahead and do a rescan anyway.
I didn't have to rescan. Just input 25-1.

I did input 25.1 as well as 4.1, 5.1, 7.1 etc. nothing came up. all the HD locals are still on subchannels in the 86 - 87 range. Thats weird. How long have you had this setup? They probably have not gotten around to throwing the switch for my town yet. Another question, after this change, are you able to still see VOD on the 80, 81, 90, 91 subchannels? I am just waiting for that ship to sail any day now.

Any sign of 837? (The place I would put AnE HD?)

Will Verses be moving to channel 48?