San Francisco, CA - Comcast [Text View] - Page 18

raghu1111

11-21-07, 11:34 AM

Any opinions as to how SD would look on that, since it seems San Rafael is a bit of a wasteland when it comes to HDTV.
It wouldn't look any worse than on any type TV at that size :). Also if you calibrate your TV it will be much better.. e.g. if you turn up 'Sharpening' a lot, very good HD can tolerate it.. but on SD it will make the picture much worse be cause SD resolution is less and any noise will get multiplied.

If you have Digital channels for SD (most areas do), it will be much better (even if your ananlog channels were just as good on regular tv).

In summery : SD won't look as good as it did on smaller tvs.. but if you calibrate well and have digital SD, you can minimize the effect.

cfryer

11-21-07, 12:28 PM

Looks like Comcast reshuffled quite a few HD channels in Berkeley recently. I called to complain about not getting HBOHD and the CSR did not even know that channels had been reshuffled. I figured it out due to this forum. My Tivo S3 still has the old channel line up as well. Anyhow, you can look up the new channels on Comcast's website if you have a Tivo. Always love browsing this forum. Thanks to all for the good content.

RBurks

11-21-07, 12:29 PM

All new HD channels are up and running in San Carlos. Box turned off Mon night at 7pm. Now Tivo and Cable are in perfect harmony again.

No issues other than the 3412 PIII has decided to revert to double button input. Had this problem once before. This time it coincided EXACTLY with the box reset. Assume like before it will eventually go away.

Any updates on TIVO D/L for PVR boxes for SF Bay Area???

cfryer

11-21-07, 12:38 PM

The HD info is now pretty our of date. Here are the Comcast Berkeley HD channels:

HDTV - Limited Basic
702 KTVU - HD (FOX)
703 KNTV - HD (NBC)
704 KRON - HD (IND)
705 KPIX - HD (CBS)
706 KICU - HD (IND)
707 KGO - HD (ABC)
709 KQED - HD (PBS)
712 KBCW - HD (CW)

HDTV - Sports Entertainment
730 NFL Network - HD

HDTV - Digital Classic
720 FSN - HD
722 Vs/Golf - HD
724 ESPN - HD
725 ESPN 2 - HD
727 Universal HD
728 MTV HD
734 A&E - HD
735 TBS - HD
737 TNT - HD
738 USA - HD
739 Universal - HD
740 MOJO
743 MTV - HD
746 HGTV - HD
750 Discovery - HD
754 Discovery Theater - HD
757 National Geographic - HD
758 History Channel - HD

HDTV - Premium Services
770 HBO - HD
780 Starz - HD
785 Showtime-HD
792 Cinemax - HD

bwelling

11-21-07, 01:35 PM

My case number's even lower (7845074), and the automated message said "We expect to resolve the issue within 5 to 7 business days". This all seems pretty random, and really shouldn't be that hard to fix.

I just called TiVo customer service, and according to them, Tribune has confirmed the problem as of yesterday morning, and is working on a fix. The representative said that he expected the correct data sometime later today or tomorrow, so we'll see.

Persil

11-21-07, 03:24 PM

I'm just curious, with all the talk I hear of techs having to show up with armloads of cablecards to cherry pick one or two that will work, what's the deal?

Is the technology really that unstable? Or, are these used cablecards that have not been erased properly? Is there an erasing process? If so, why don't the techs have an eraser in the truck?

Or, are these broken cablecards that should be thrown away instead of being tried at the next consumer's house?

Does anybody know the truth behind the voodoo? I'm sure the laws of physics still apply here.

Once you get a configuration that works, are you good to go? Or do these things have a high failure rate post-install that starts this all over again?

nikeykid

11-21-07, 03:52 PM

fender4645

11-21-07, 07:22 PM

Comcast just left from installing my CableCARDs...15 minutes in and out. No problems.

11-22-07, 02:42 AM

Comcast just left from installing my CableCARDs...15 minutes in and out. No problems.

Are you still in Moraga? Did you get M-Cards or S-Cards? I have relatives over there thinking about setting up a TiVo HD.

fender4645

11-22-07, 03:12 AM

Are you still in Moraga? Did you get M-Cards or S-Cards? I have relatives over there thinking about setting up a TiVo HD.

Oops...thanks for reminding me to update my profile :D. I'm in the north side of Orinda now which is served by a different headend then when I was in Moraga. But to answer you question (since I did have CableCARD install in Moraga a few months ago), it was an S-Card for an S3 and everything went fine. I think they've worked out most of the kinks since I haven't seen too many people gripe about the installs (other than the fact that my first contract installer was a moron). The guy today (who works for Comcast) knew exactly what to do.

sfhub

11-22-07, 06:13 AM

As far as I know, it's never been set in stone whether cable companies can charge for local HD or not, it's been pretty much left up to the particular cable companies interpretation, some do. Comcast may be shifting over to the charge group, although, I would consider that incredibly stupid given the current competition from DirecTV/Dish.
I remember having a related conversation with dt_dc. As it stood then, if a broadcast OTA HD channel is carried at all, it must be in the basic tier for a regulated cable franchise.

I've never seen basic tier as an optional package on any cable system. However I have seen isolated cable systems which appear to ignore the basic tier requirement.

That conversation was here:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=4978290#post4978290

robingo88

11-22-07, 08:48 AM

i'm in 95124 with an S3 and all has been working properly for me (knock on wood) since the recent channel moves...

but yesterday i got a "A lineup change has occurred" with my daily update that said:

The TiVo service has detected a change in your cable lineup.
Added:
40 FSBAHDS

now this is strange because this is the Fox Sports Bay Area channel that has always been there...

however when i go to the TiVo channel guide for this "new" channel 40 it mostly shows SIGN OFF... it -appears- to actually be the guide for 720, the HD channel

so i went into the TiVo "channels i receive" setup page and the official titles for the two channels are:

40 - FSBAHDS
Fox Sports Bay Area W/ Sign Offs

720 - FSBAHDS
Fox Sports Bay Area W/ Sign Offs

so somehow the TiVo service is now mapping the programming guide for 720 to 40

anyone else notice this?

cheers!
robin

bwelling

11-22-07, 02:55 PM

I just called TiVo customer service, and according to them, Tribune has confirmed the problem as of yesterday morning, and is working on a fix. The representative said that he expected the correct data sometime later today or tomorrow, so we'll see.

As of this morning, the guide data is finally updated here!

fender4645

11-22-07, 03:14 PM

Tom Koegel

11-22-07, 03:43 PM

Anybody know the reason for shuffling old favorites like ESPN-HD around? Is there something magic about Channel 723 that made them want to move ESPN-HD up to 724 from its long-occupied spot?

lmsyl

11-24-07, 08:35 PM

In Fremont, it is worse. My Tivo HD could not lock them. I checked those two channels are mapped to 855 MHz. The Tivo just flipped between QAM64/256.:mad:

And there is no Guide from Tivo yet.

After one week vacation my Tivo still could not pick up those two channels in Fremont. Now they are mapped to 477 MHz, tivohd still switch between QAM64 and 256.:confused:

millerwill

11-24-07, 09:08 PM

Is there any HD channel from Comcast that broadcasts a 'Tune Up' program, like INHD (I believe) did for quite a while? (I believe it was broadcast ~ 4 am on the 1st Sunday of each month, or something like that.) I would surely be useful, just to be able to set Brightness and Contrast from cable HD.

sfhub

11-25-07, 07:12 PM

After one week vacation my Tivo still could not pick up those two channels in Fremont. Now they are mapped to 477 MHz, tivohd still switch between QAM64 and 256.:confused:
If TiVo is switching between QAM64 and 256 it is because the signal it is getting is missing or seriously degraded. It can't lock in on the signal. This could either be because the signal is messed up or the channel map retrieved through the CableCARD is messed up. I had the same QAM64/256 flipping on some channels after the earthquake and Comcast came out and fixed it their problem.

lmsyl

11-25-07, 09:06 PM

If TiVo is switching between QAM64 and 256 it is because the signal it is getting is missing or seriously degraded. It can't lock in on the signal. This could either be because the signal is messed up or the channel map retrieved through the CableCARD is messed up. I had the same QAM64/256 flipping on some channels after the earthquake and Comcast came out and fixed it their problem.

I think I figured it out. The 477 MHz is analog ch. 66, which is blocked by the frequency filter installed by Comcast (I only have limit basic + digital classic). The question is how Comcast can fix this without removing the filter. :eek:

keenan

11-25-07, 10:00 PM

My brother is thinking about getting a TiVo HD, I would be "gifting" it to him so he can get the lifetime sub price.

Does the Richmond district in SF use M-cards yet for TiVo installs?

fitprod

11-26-07, 02:14 AM

Anybody know the reason for shuffling old favorites like ESPN-HD around? Is there something magic about Channel 723 that made them want to move ESPN-HD up to 724 from its long-occupied spot?

It's just the channel re-assignments. It looks like Comcast has tried to set up their HD offerings based upon genre.

Since there is a slot between 722 (Golf/Vs HD) and 724 (ESPN HD), I figure 723 is where they might drop in ESPN News HD when they decide to add it. I believe it launches in January, but who knows when Comcast will pick it up next year.

The spaces between 725 (ESPN 2 HD) and 730 (NFL Network HD) are probably reserved for NHL TV HD and NBA TV HD, which are already available on Direct TV.

fitprod

keenan

11-26-07, 10:26 AM

From the TiVo thread,

To all the doubters out there : CableLabs and TiVo have announced that the SDV dongle will ship in Q2 2008. LINK (http://investor.tivo.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=276754).

Money quote :The adapter will work on any Unidirectional Digital Cable Ready Product (UDCP) that has a USB connector and necessary firmware. The cable industry is working with TiVo to ensure that installation of CableCARDs and the adapter will be easy and seamless for the consumer. Cable operators will make the new adapters available for TiVo customers in the second quarter of 2008. “We are gratified that the cable industry has agreed to work quickly to develop a solution that will enable existing TiVo CableCARD DVRs to directly access switched digital cable channels and ensure the adapter is part of an easy installation process for cable subscribers,” said TiVo’s Rogers.

bobby94928

11-26-07, 12:34 PM

keenan

11-26-07, 01:32 PM

This morning's Santa Rosa Press Democrat had an article regarding the Santa Rosa upgrade. It actually had a date!!!! December 12 seems to be the day that "sections of the new new network" get turned on.

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20071126/NEWS/711260301/1036/BUSINESS01

I haven't received a post card yet, and I'm hoping that it doesn't mean my area isn't ready to be lit up. I'm hoping that the cards were sent to specific subs who will need the new box only, but my experience has been that Comcast sends these sorts of things out to everybody, I've been getting ads for OnDemand and other services for years, even though we've never had those services.

And what is this, we all know how well cable companies meet their target dates, why even bother with this little ditty, "eventually" and "not be available for at least a year, and probably longer" means who knows when we'll really get that service, talk about dangling a carrot...
Eventually, customers in Santa Rosa will be offered Internet access at speeds up to 100 mbps, Johnson said. However, the higher speeds will not be available for at least a year, and probably longer.

JasonQG

11-26-07, 02:14 PM

Now I have a specific date to look forward to being disappointed on. (I refuse to be optimistic).

John Mace

11-26-07, 03:38 PM

I haven't seen this topic discussed for awhile, but why are we still suffering thru "remote stutter"? Mine had a case so bad last night that I almost threw the damn thing at the STB.

If we can send a man to the moon...? Or, have I missed something?

That Don Guy

11-26-07, 03:39 PM

From the TiVo thread,To all the doubters out there : CableLabs and TiVo have announced that the SDV dongle will ship in Q2 2008.The only doubt I have is the shipping date - Q2 2008 usually means "hopefully by October," right?

The other question is, will Comcast make it work with OnDemand? (The real question is, can they, since OnDemand has its own menu system and there needs to be a way to get the TiVo remote to operate it?)

-- Don

louislam

11-26-07, 06:24 PM

I have a similar problem - I have two CableCards and on both, the only HD channel missing is 750 (Discovery HD). I have Limited Basic Cable ($13.08) and Digital Classic ($14.95), and my zip code is 95125.

The Comcast tech came out (really nice guy) and was puzzled by this as well. He called in and was eventually told that channel 750 comes in as part of extended cable, and since I don't have that, I don't get that channel. Does this sound right?

BTW, I'm pretty sure there is a signal filter on the coax cable coming in to my house since I never had a cablebox and I was only getting the Limited Basic analog channels in the past.

so, i spent 20 minutes on hold over dinner and talked to Comcast. The guy seemed pretty sympathetic and tried resetting my box a couple of times and then at the end tried a "frequency test" which gave no response for channel 750 (or the frequency for it). He wanted to schedule an appointment for me tomorrow, but my life at work is a zoo right now so i had to defer and say i'd look into it sometime when things lightened up or try to exchange boxes at the local CS Center. nevertheless, i doubt this problem is a box related issue. seems almost too unlikely considering everything else works fine and someone else (zeldor) in a nearby zip code has the exact same problem.

hopefully this will get reported to the appropriate people on the Santa Clara headend so that i can avoid an appointment and/or box swap.

anyone else have the problem besides zeldor and me? again, i'm in 95054.

thanks, Derek

ps. the only good news is he credited me $7 for my HD cost for this month. at least i got something out of my phone call...

Derek87

11-26-07, 08:13 PM

well, that's pretty bizarre...the customer service person i talked to on the phone made no such excuses. Discovery channel in SD for 95054 is part of limited basic, so that doesn't make sense.

i wish i had more time to investigate this, but maybe around the holidays, i'll make a visit to the Comcast office to try a new STB.

I have a similar problem - I have two CableCards and on both, the only HD channel missing is 750 (Discovery HD). I have Limited Basic Cable ($13.08) and Digital Classic ($14.95), and my zip code is 95125.

The Comcast tech came out (really nice guy) and was puzzled by this as well. He called in and was eventually told that channel 750 comes in as part of extended cable, and since I don't have that, I don't get that channel. Does this sound right?

BTW, I'm pretty sure there is a signal filter on the coax cable coming in to my house since I never had a cablebox and I was only getting the Limited Basic analog channels in the past.

louislam

11-26-07, 08:23 PM

My Discovery SD comes in as channel 29 as well. The technican said all the HD channels (the 7XX) come in under the limited basic frequency, except Discovery HD (750), which comes in under the expanded cable frequency. I'm not exactly sure what this means and I have no way to test it out except upgrading to expanded cable (so they'll take the filter off), but the extra charges are not worth it for me.

well, that's pretty bizarre...the customer service person i talked to on the phone made no such excuses. Discovery channel in SD for 95054 is part of limited basic, so that doesn't make sense.

i wish i had more time to investigate this, but maybe around the holidays, i'll make a visit to the Comcast office to try a new STB.

zeldor

11-26-07, 10:15 PM

I have expanded basic and no signal on 750.
so unless there is a filter in the cable cabinet here
they are full of @#%^.

I have a similar problem - I have two CableCards and on both, the only HD channel missing is 750 (Discovery HD). I have Limited Basic Cable ($13.08) and Digital Classic ($14.95), and my zip code is 95125.

The Comcast tech came out (really nice guy) and was puzzled by this as well. He called in and was eventually told that channel 750 comes in as part of extended cable, and since I don't have that, I don't get that channel. Does this sound right?

BTW, I'm pretty sure there is a signal filter on the coax cable coming in to my house since I never had a cablebox and I was only getting the Limited Basic analog channels in the past.

jk5598224

11-26-07, 10:28 PM

Hey I ordered my Tivo HD yesterday and it arrives tommorrow! Time to call Comcast and order Cablecard. Does anybody know if they use the M-Card in San Francisco. Specifically I am in Brisbane/Pacifica/Daly City which may be a bit different than San Francisco.

juancmjr

11-27-07, 12:30 AM

Bergna

11-27-07, 12:50 AM

I sometimes get these jaggy, flickering specks at the top of the frame when viewing SD material on an HD channel. Does anybody have any idea what causes them? Shown below is an example of channel 702.

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/1961/sdjaggiesie3.jpg

clau

11-27-07, 01:22 AM

Bergna

11-27-07, 02:00 AM

keenan

11-27-07, 03:24 AM

Your overscan is adjusted a bit too low. If you watch very little SD I wouldn't worry about it as long as the HD channels don't exhibit any problems. I adjust my overscan to be as tight as possible, maybe 2-3% and I don't worry about the SD channels.

keenan

11-27-07, 03:27 AM

I could be wrong but shouldn't there be fiber optic lines installed so customers in Santa Rosa can get the upgraded 1GHz cable system? Ever since I saw Comcast trucks working on something the next block over from me about a month ago there hasn't been any activity since.

They've been deploying fiber for a few months in my area, an area roughly from Brookwood to Farmers and 4th to Sonoma. I haven't seen them actually tie in the fiber yet though, it's hanging parallel to the older stuff.

clau

11-27-07, 03:53 AM

My screen is set to display in 16:9 format, and I only see these artifacts when the source is 4:3 standard definition. Below is a snapshot of a normal HD source.

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/3285/hd169xt8.jpg

If you set it to 1:1 pixel mapping, how bad does it get?

There may be an adjustment to change the amount of overscan. I am not familiar with Sony's so can't say for sure.

raghu1111

11-27-07, 11:31 AM

I sometimes get these jaggy, flickering specks at the top of the frame when viewing SD material on an HD channel. Does anybody have any idea what causes them? Shown below is an example of channel 702.

If you can't adjust overscan, try component. Or if this is comcast STB try 720p vs 1080i. For me, this went away with one of these changes (on my Panasonic Plasma).

Bergna

11-27-07, 11:52 AM

I set my screen to 1:1 display (Sony calls it 'full pixel'). It's just a minor annoyance and I don't watch SD material very often so I'll just have to live with it. Thank you all for your comments.

clau

11-27-07, 11:58 AM

I set my screen to 1:1 display (Sony calls it 'full pixel'). It's just a minor annoyance and I don't watch SD material very often so I'll just have to live with it. Thank you all for your comments.

So you are saying you see the white lines in SD when your set is set to "full-pixel"? There is another picture size mode (Samsung calls it 16:9) that will give you overscan to eliminate those white lines. Have you tried that mode (not sure if Sony calls it 16:9 or not)?

Bergna

11-27-07, 12:49 PM

Sony calls it the 'Full Wide mode': "select this mode to display the 16:9 picture in its original size." Since this only happens on certain channels, I figured it's caused by the formatting of the source, not my set, but your explanation makes sense because some materials have captions and others don't.

juancmjr

11-27-07, 12:52 PM

They've been deploying fiber for a few months in my area, an area roughly from Brookwood to Farmers and 4th to Sonoma. I haven't seen them actually tie in the fiber yet though, it's hanging parallel to the older stuff.

It figures that east side Santa Rosa would get fiber first :mad:. Not a knock on you keenan. However, as I post this a work truck from a company called CableCom is pulling some kind of cable from pole to pole. Outside contractor for Comcast? I've also seen work crews from AT&T putting up cable but their cable is connected only at one end, with the run still wound and hanging from the pole.

rsra13

11-27-07, 01:53 PM

I received my bill and a sheet with the new prices and channels.

Enjoy and discuss! :D

rsra13

11-27-07, 01:55 PM

I didn't know we had the NHL channel! :O

keenan

11-27-07, 02:05 PM

It figures that east side Santa Rosa would get fiber first :mad:. Not a knock on you keenan. However, as I post this a work truck from a company called CableCom is pulling some kind of cable from pole to pole. Outside contractor for Comcast? I've also seen work crews from AT&T putting up cable but their cable is connected only at one end, with the run still wound and hanging from the pole.

Yes, CableCom is a contractor for Comcast, they're the ones who have been pulling cable in my neighborhood.

keenan

11-27-07, 02:10 PM

I received my bill and a sheet with the new prices and channels.

Enjoy and discuss! :D

Not that I haven't been aware of it before, but every time I see it in print it reminds me - Comcast charges a whopping amount for their premium channel offerings, it's clear they really don't want you buying those a-la-carte.

montyward

11-27-07, 02:19 PM

Yes, CableCom is a contractor for Comcast, they're the ones who have been pulling cable in my neighborhood.
I wonder what channels we will get in HD, similar to San Jose or more? I'm in Rincon Valley and have had Directv or Dish Network for the past 7 years because cable has been so bad in SR. It seems like it may be time to ditch the landline, get cable modem and two Tivo HDs. I can't believe I'm even considering it.

rsra13

11-27-07, 02:25 PM

Not that I haven't been aware of it before, but every time I see it in print it reminds me - Comcast charges a whopping amount for their premium channel offerings, it's clear they really don't want you buying those a-la-carte.

I know. I'm waiting for the season finale of Dexter to cancel Showtime. :o

keenan

11-27-07, 02:26 PM

I wonder what channels we will get in HD, similar to San Jose or more? I'm in Rincon Valley and have had Directv or Dish Network for the past 7 years because cable has been so bad in SR. It seems like it may be time to ditch the landline, get cable modem and two Tivo HDs. I can't believe I'm even considering it.

Hopefully we will at least double the paltry 10+1(FSNBA-HD) offering we have now. I don't see why wouldn't get every available channel in all of the bay area systems combined currently as bandwidth shouldn't be a problem.

But you never know what goes on in the "mind" of Comcast, I wouldn't be surprised if only a handful, 4-5, showed up.

As far as adding HD channels in general, Comcast is moving at a rather slow pace. I foresee still using DirecTV as a companion to Comcast for at least the next year or so.

keenan

11-27-07, 02:30 PM

I know. I'm waiting for the season finale of Dexter to cancel Showtime. :o

Yes, Comcast is really expensive, based on the last numbers I saw, Comcast is getting at least a 150% markup on those channels when sold a-la-carte.

siouxmoux

11-27-07, 03:30 PM

Yikes!! I just got My Comcast latest bill went up by Nice bucks. But by Friday if Everything goes well I will be able to lower my bill and get HBO, Starz, Showtime, Encore, Sports Tier, HDTV, DVR and 6/1 Net Access.

davisdog

11-27-07, 03:41 PM

Yes, Comcast is really expensive, based on the last numbers I saw, Comcast is getting at least a 150% markup on those channels when sold a-la-carte.

Ouch... I pay $12.99/mth for the 11 Showtime channels a-la-carte from Dish and comcast charges $17.99...

keenan

11-27-07, 04:13 PM

Ouch... I pay $12.99/mth for the 11 Showtime channels a-la-carte from Dish and comcast charges $17.99...

Yeah, Comcast is just way out there with those prices. BTW, Showtime had a deal a month or so back at $7 a month, I think it was for either 6 mos or a year. I had previously discontinued Showtime with DirecTV and re-signed up during that offer period, still trying to figure out if DirecTV is giving me that price, a lot of changes on my bill lately.

Now that I think about it, I'm actually getting it for free for a year as that was one of the programming credits they gave me when I upgraded to the MPEG4 DVR, in fact, it appears I'm getting SHO and HBO from D* for about $2 a month total for a year. They wanted $300 for the DVR, but it turned out that I only paid $100 plus got the SHO/HBO price breaks. Definitely came out ahead on that deal. :)

And of course, SHO-HD hasn't even been available in Santa Rosa since Comcast added KTVU-HD a few years ago.

fender4645

11-27-07, 04:23 PM

keenan

11-27-07, 04:40 PM

Keep in mind too (close your eyes Mr. Johnson) that it's usually not that difficult to get discounts. Just by calling a CSR and saying you're thinking about switching to DBS will usually net you at least a discount on one of the digital cable tiers for 6 months. I've done this at least 3 or 4 times. I think I've been getting HSI for $19.99/month for the last 3 years.

and/or billing slip-ups, (once again, close your eyes Mr. Johnson :p ), I've been getting Digital Classic and 2 CableCARDS since Sept-06 for free, they've never shown up on my bill. All I've been paying is the flat $18+taxes for Limited Basic and getting all the HD channels(8 - :rolleyes:) other than premiums for that time period. :D

walk

11-27-07, 10:25 PM

I set my screen to 1:1 display (Sony calls it 'full pixel'). It's just a minor annoyance and I don't watch SD material very often so I'll just have to live with it. Thank you all for your comments.

If you use 1:1 full pixels on SD material you will see the CC data, because it's encoded in the picture area. You'll have to use normal (overscanned) modes for SD sources if it bothers you.

reel_fan

11-27-07, 11:56 PM

My KPIX-HD has been dead all day today. Anyone else having a problem?

I'm in Livermore.

Bergna

11-28-07, 12:23 PM

That's good to know, I'll keep this in mind. Thanks for the information

If you use 1:1 full pixels on SD material you will see the CC data, because it's encoded in the picture area. You'll have to use normal (overscanned) modes for SD sources if it bothers you.

walk

11-28-07, 01:06 PM

So who else was on the phone about 20 mins before the Thanksgiving NFL game to order the NFL channel...?

I was reading an article today, said NFL wants 70 cents per subscriber. I don't know if that's expensive or what... but I mean Comcast charges $2.95 and that's just a "special" running right now, it's normally $6.95. I don't understand how Comcast can't turn a profit selling something for $7 that only costs them 70 cents....

keenan

11-28-07, 02:31 PM

bobby94928

11-28-07, 03:26 PM

Comcast recently merged the Premier and Sports tiers making it a total of 9 channels and it goes for $4.95 a month. There are 7 sports channels included in this package.

walk

11-28-07, 05:01 PM

and nobody gives a rat's about any of the other channels...

seriously I would love to see the sub. numbers for that channel leading up to last week's game. the CR said they have been getting phone calls back to back all day to order it, and I'm sure that trend will continue into tomorrow evening...

bobby94928

11-28-07, 06:54 PM

and nobody gives a rat's about any of the other channels...

Oh, I don't know, included in those channels is NBA and NHL, although neither are HD, yet...... I'm guessing that there are a few more than nobody that has interest in the Soccer channel as well.

clau

11-28-07, 07:12 PM

I'm in Sunnyvale where the upgrade has not happened yet. Is there any way for us to watch Thursday's Dallas/GB game? Is it shown on any other channel besides NFL-HD (which we don't get)?

walk

11-28-07, 07:22 PM

It's also shown on the standard NFL channel.

walk

11-28-07, 07:30 PM

Barte

11-28-07, 07:46 PM

A bemused commentary on this from NPR can be found here (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16665953).

clau

11-28-07, 07:46 PM

It's also shown on the standard NFL channel.

I think we're out of luck, since we don't get the standard NFL channel. Or at least I can't find it listed in the Sunnyvale(Digital) listings.

YShahar

11-28-07, 08:10 PM

Since this thread is so long I decided to post this question here. If it is not the correct place please let me know. Here is my situation. I don't own a tv, yet I would like to watch local channels in HD. My computer screen is Samsung 24" with 1200x1920 native resolution. I was thinking to install a FusionHDTV5-RT Gold tv capture card which has clear QAM tuner.

Now my internet provider is Comcast and I was wondering what can I expect to get in HD?
I have no idea if Comcast encrypt the local channels or maybe I can get some other channels with HD. If I need to subscribe to the any service please let me know. Also if there is a channel list and whats available in HD will be greatly appreciated. The one thing I don't want to do is to get their tuner.

Thanks for any info,
Yossi

bobby94928

11-28-07, 08:29 PM

I think we're out of luck, since we don't get the standard NFL channel. Or at least I can't find it listed in the Sunnyvale(Digital) listings.

Try channel 417......

bobby94928

11-28-07, 08:32 PM

YShahar

11-28-07, 08:51 PM

You will receive KTVU, KNTV, KRON, KPIX, KICU, KGO, KQED, and KBCW in HD. They are all unencrypted.

Thanks much. for the info.

clau

11-28-07, 09:56 PM

Try channel 417......

We don't have that channel. We're in Comcast (Digital) not Comcast (Digital Rebuild) :(.

http://tvplanner.comcast.net/?zipcode=94087#initView=setting,subPage=main,target=,b3targe t=,b3selPath=,gridStart=1196303400000,gridFilter=all,searchT erm=,microCat=null,microSubcat=null,browseAlpha=null,browseL isting=null,1196304950782

caliwxdude

11-29-07, 02:45 AM

Has anyone heard when or if CNN HD will come to Comcast here in the Bay Area? I thought it was part of the group of HD channels rumored to come in November, but it wasn't. What happened?

keenan

11-29-07, 03:37 AM

A bemused commentary on this from NPR can be found here (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16665953).
Hilarious, thanks for the link. "American as waterboarding" "rinky-dink network" "ekes out a mere $3.7 billion", great stuff, the NFL can go pound sand. :D

mjhhmb

11-29-07, 11:11 AM

Just thought I'd post the list of packages & prices from my area (Lafayette/Moraga) as a contrast to those available in San Jose posted by RSRA13. Confusing to me is that the NFL HD channel is included in the 'Sports Entertainment Package' in his area but not in mine... it looks like the only way to get the NFL HD channel is through 'Sports Entertainment Package HD'? Is this an additional charge? Also, why is 'Limited Basic' $17.77 in my area and $13.08 in SJ, but 'Expanded Basic' is $5 cheaper here?

All I know for sure is I'm paying $177 a month for cable & HSI and I can't watch the footballl game tonight :mad:

Fab2007

11-29-07, 12:12 PM

yesterday I signed for Digital Classic tier (+ limited basic) in order to get the new HD channels (like Discovery, TNT, USA, etc).
Unfortunately, I don't get any signal for USAHD and HGTVHD -- they are not encrypted, just no signal (I have a Series 3 Tivo w/ cablecards).

Are these 2 channels in the frequencies that the filter Comcast installed (remember I have limited basic) block?
If so, is it worth the effort to get a visit from a Comcast contractor, just to have them tell me they can't remove the filter because I have limited basic?

Thanks to all who can give me good suggestions.

Cal1981

11-29-07, 01:44 PM

Comcast recently merged the Premier and Sports tiers making it a total of 9 channels and it goes for $4.95 a month. There are 7 sports channels included in this package.
I had Digital Premier ($4.99/month) without NFL Network. After Comcast merged the two packages, I called Customer Service and they removed Digital Premier added the Sports and Entertainment package for the same $4.99 and I instantly received NFL Network and the other channels that I hadn't gotten under the old system.

PITTM

11-29-07, 01:53 PM

Is there any kind of expected date that Santa Cruz will get NFL network? I was floored when I found out that my 200+ channel package will not be showing a nationally televised nfl game tonight. shocking.

davisdog

11-29-07, 02:17 PM

Hilarious, thanks for the link. "American as waterboarding" "rinky-dink network" "ekes out a mere $3.7 billion", great stuff, the NFL can go pound sand. :D

Do you think they meant as American as "washboarding" instead of waterboarding :D

which is the new CIA mention for Torture that's being debated....I bet you Jerry Jones thinks that if the CIA threatened to withhold the NFL network from prisioners they would give in right away

keenan

11-29-07, 02:43 PM

Do you think they meant as American as "washboarding" instead of waterboarding :D

which is the new CIA mention for Torture that's being debated....I bet you Jerry Jones thinks that if the CIA threatened to withhold the NFL network from prisioners they would give in right away

:p:D

leftjab

11-29-07, 03:26 PM

I guess you're right, the NBA and NHL channels are in that package (plus some college sports and Golf... and the Fox Movie channel for some reason??)

Still, how many people watch out-of-market NBA or NHL games (or soccer or college sports..) vs how many want to watch football on Thanksgiving, or Dallas vs Green Bay tomorrow night... I'm guessing probably 40-50% of the people who subscribe to that "package" signed up in the last week or so, and will cancel it in late January...

Fox Soccer Channel and GolTv are about 25% of my total tv watching, I follow college hockey through CSTV and the fox regionals, and my favorite NBA (sadly) and NHL teams are from New York, where I grew up (btw, many bay area residents are not from here originally, probably higher than in most other U.S. cities, and many of us retain our childhood sports allegiances). my favorite sports in order of watching are soccer, hockey, hoops. I believe Sundance and Independent Film Channel also used to be in the package. for me, it's the NFL channel that is the free bonus, though I follow football too and will be rooting against the 'boys tonight. different strokes for different folks.

ultimately, it's the NFL's hypocrisy in limiting the Sunday Ticket package to Direct TV, but wanting Comcast to have the NFL Network on a free tier. Salon's King Kaufman has a good take on this today -- of course, Salon isn't free either, but you usually can get to an article by watching an ad.

http://www.salon.com/sports/col/kaufman/2007/11/29/thursday/

Barte

11-30-07, 09:58 AM

zeldor

11-30-07, 10:26 AM

so I had a tech goon from comcast come out yesterday to look
into why I couldnt get channel 750 when all the other new HD channels
were fine.
Turns out it was just old wiring in the complex.
he redid the connectors on all the wires coming from the cable
closet into my apartment. life is good now.

keenan

11-30-07, 02:36 PM

The commentator, Frank Deford, said "waterboarding." "Washboarding" was keenan's interpretation. ;)

I knew what Deford meant, that's what made it so funny in a cynical sort of way. :)

rsra13

11-30-07, 06:21 PM

raghu1111

11-30-07, 07:38 PM

So I was almost ready to leave for dinner yesterday and decided to watch the game a few minutes (football). Then I remembered that it was in the NFL network and that I don't have that package. Duh! :p

Local office did not add NFL for me since I have 'Basic + Classic'. But when I got home I just checked 417 and it was unencrypted :)

Only for the duration of the match I think. This is in San Jose.

Derek87

11-30-07, 11:06 PM

thanks for the update zeldor....

more weirdness: i check my 750 tonight and it's now there except for fairly regularly (every 20 or so seconds) pixel breakup. so strange...

my building is only 1.5 years old, so unless the wire is just plain defective...

anyway, good to get your data point. i'm going to wait until i have time ,but this might just happen to be one of those few instances where the problem gets taken care of without my effort? we'll see. :p

so I had a tech goon from comcast come out yesterday to look
into why I couldnt get channel 750 when all the other new HD channels
were fine.
Turns out it was just old wiring in the complex.
he redid the connectors on all the wires coming from the cable
closet into my apartment. life is good now.

ptysell

12-01-07, 06:09 PM

Not sure if this has been covered yet or if it is just me but, on my TiVo HD, UHD is USA HD and USAHD is not authorized. UHD= 739 = USA HD. USAHD = 738 = Not Authorized.

Channels are mapped fine on my Comcast box.

On both boxes I DO NOT get UHD even though it show up on
Tivo

Dragunov1

12-03-07, 07:35 PM

keenan

12-03-07, 07:47 PM

clau

12-03-07, 08:39 PM

Bill

12-03-07, 08:54 PM

How do you find out the RF frequencies of those channels? I have a Motorola SB modem, how do I tell what frequency it locks at? I thought these modems work below 50MHz.

I'm in Sunnyvale 94087, but no changes yet. Not happy that I couldn't get the Packers/Dallas game last week.

Got the upgrade letter from Comcast, sometime between the weeks of 12-4 and 1-4. I'm expecting 1-4.

dlou99

12-04-07, 03:52 AM

I have a Motorola SB modem, how do I tell what frequency it locks at?

From inside the LAN, open a browser to http://192.168.100.1

juancmjr

12-04-07, 01:24 PM

In Santa Rosa we have the guide info for Discovery Channel-HD, and the call letters even say "DSCHD", yet the actual programing is Discovery HD Theater. Not sure how long that's been going on...this is on a TiVo S3.

My guide listings for Discovery HD say HDT. Could it be that my older Motorola DCT6200 box with firmware 16.20 shows different listings than cable cards?

keenan

12-04-07, 01:29 PM

My guide listings for Discovery HD say HDT. Could it be that my older Motorola DCT6200 box with firmware 16.20 shows different listings than cable cards?

Okay, I think what happened is TiVo is sending the wrong guide data for my area. HDT is what it should be. I'm not going to bother with it now, I'll just wait and see what happens(if anything) in the next two weeks when parts of Santa Rosa are supposed to go live with the upgrade.

NeilPeart

12-04-07, 02:53 PM

In Sunnyvale (Wolfe/Old San Francisco), my modem just came back online locked at 705MHz so hopefully we really will see the new channels by 12/15. There is also a second NBC-HD QAM chan 110 (711MHz) for testing purposes. The only thing that I am worried about is the old wiring in my apartment which might cause some problems. If anyone else is in the area, can you please post at what MHz your modem locks at? Thanks!
Dragunov1,
My modem indeed displays 705MHz and I'm in 94086 (Evelyn/Reed). Since the upgrade I now see 3 new local HD channels via QAM: KRON, KICU and KBCW - these three were not available in my area until 11/20, when the upgrade became effective (which doesn't mean much since I was receiving those locals via the DB4 antenna anyway, but it’s nice to know I don’t really need the antenna, except for the marvelous digital JazzTV on KCSM 43.2 with its unbelievable sonic quality). A Comcast CSR confirmed that if I paid the $$$ for the service and received a CableCard for my TV then I would have access to the 27 other HD channels since my area is now officially 1GHz. When the Series4 Tivos are released I may invest in that and pay the extra for all those channels (useless without a DVR in my opinion). Right now I am perfectly happy enjoying all the locals via QAM and the free CPSAN, Discovery, etc. via $14 Basic service (and my HDHR works just fine with QAM and Media Center). Be patient Dragunov1 – your time will come.

dr1394

12-04-07, 03:02 PM

From inside the LAN, open a browser to http://192.168.100.1
Thank you. I learned something today.

Ron

rxp19

12-04-07, 11:35 PM

From inside the LAN, open a browser to http://192.168.100.1

Interesting, I'm at 567.011 MHz (Hayward)... looks like I might not see new HD channels anytime soon :(

clau

12-05-07, 01:08 AM

From inside the LAN, open a browser to http://192.168.100.1

Thanks a lot! Now I know my modem S/N ratio is 36dB. I think that 's pretty good. The downstream is still at 549 MHz or so. No upgrades yet.

hd-salee

12-05-07, 03:46 AM

From inside the LAN, open a browser to http://192.168.100.1
Still can't figure out how to get the frequency from this site. I see this:

-----
PC Connectivity:
USB: Not Connected
Ethernet: 100 BaseT Full Duplex
USB Vendor ID: 06 cc
MAC Address: 00-E0-6F-88-25-CC
CM Model: TJ715x

Cable Signal: Ready
Tuning: Complete
Ranging: Complete

Data Service: Ready
Connecting: Complete
Configuring: Complete
Registering: Complete

Current state: Operational
Highest State Obtained: Operational
-----

Am I overlooking somthing?

Thanks,
Steve

dr1394

12-05-07, 12:22 PM

Here's what mine looks like. There's a diagnostics link in the upper left hand corner.

http://www.w6rz.net/rcamodem.jpg

Ron

KStack

12-05-07, 12:33 PM

Interesting, I'm at 567.011 MHz (Hayward)... looks like I might not see new HD channels anytime soon :(

:( wow we have a long way to go.

NeilPeart

12-05-07, 02:47 PM

My area JUST got upgraded from the lowly 550MHz, and the saddest aspect of that is I was paying full price and getting the least amount of HD content while my friends in the 750/860MHz areas were getting SO much more for the same price (I wasn't even getting local HD feeds of KRON/KICU or KBCW - ESPN, Discovery HD Theater & HBO were my only available non-basic HD channels - a total of only 9 HD channels). I reduced my service down to Basic for this very reason several months ago and now my area (Sunnyvale) is finally upgraded. I truly believe Comcast should tier the prices based on available content but that presents its own issues. Now do I return to the $$$/month plan to enjoy the new HD? I'm not sure I have the time inclination to return that TV-teat, and a DVR would only increase my suckling (albeit more efficiently)...

D-Real

12-05-07, 03:02 PM

:( wow we have a long way to go.

K-Stack, isn't Hayward supposed to see upgrades kick in by Dec. 7th. I seem to recall seeing a post with this date. I got my upgrade letter back in August and still haven't seen any benefits. I'm seeing a lot of Comcast trucks throughout the city but no changes yet with the system.

sjhiker

12-05-07, 10:53 PM

According to comcast's tvplanner (on their website) and the commercials on TV, the movie Transformers is supposed to be available in HD after Nov 30. However, it's not listed in the HD On Demand Movies on the guide.

Any idea?

hd-salee

12-05-07, 10:58 PM

Here's what mine looks like. There's a diagnostics link in the upper left hand corner.

http://www.w6rz.net/rcamodem.jpg

Ron
That's interesting. I do not get that at all. I do not even have a Diagnostic link. Maybe it depends on the cable modem. I am using a Terayon cable modem.

Steve

Dragunov1

12-06-07, 01:54 PM

I just got the upgrade! :) Sunnyvale near Wolfe/Old San Francisco! Everything up and working. Thank you comcast!

Brian Conrad

12-06-07, 02:44 PM

Derek87

12-06-07, 04:58 PM

fun stuff...not...

i'm back to that message as well. (if you recall above, i was improving to the semi-pixelated picture for 750, but now it's not available again. i too am in a newly wired neighborhood/building, so i don't think it's a wiring issue)

I'm also getting the "channel will be available momentarily" message on TDCHD which is channel 750 here. But my wiring was redone less than 7 years ago and even the connections upgraded in 2003 when the cable box was installed. So there may be a problem down the line (there was with INHD back when they installed in 2003). I'll ping Comcast when I get a chance.

zeldor

12-06-07, 04:59 PM

I'm also getting the "channel will be available momentarily" message on TDCHD which is channel 750 here. But my wiring was redone less than 7 years ago and even the connections upgraded in 2003 when the cable box was installed. So there may be a problem down the line (there was with INHD back when they installed in 2003). I'll ping Comcast when I get a chance.
the phone support goons also had me blow out the dust inside the coax connectors
which helps in some cases. (both ends male and female)
didnt help me any but it couldnt hurt.

KStack

12-06-07, 05:12 PM

K-Stack, isn't Hayward supposed to see upgrades kick in by Dec. 7th. I seem to recall seeing a post with this date. I got my upgrade letter back in August and still haven't seen any benefits. I'm seeing a lot of Comcast trucks throughout the city but no changes yet with the system.

I dunno, some one told me it would be on the 2nd of this month but obviously...There are tons of trucks in my area too but still no change.

Dragunov1

12-06-07, 06:22 PM

For those of you that are looking at the MHz to see if the new setup is running, it is possible the Modem is running on a frequency <550MHz and you still have a 1GHz system or 750MHz, its just what channel it is on currently.

Update: Again everything seems to be running fine on my HD Cable box with the line up fully working. I have another one (Non-HD reciever) however that isn't recognizing channels below 65.

Sunnyvale - 94086 - Wolfe/Old San Francisco

UAL_Kingpin

12-06-07, 07:31 PM

I am in South San Francisco, and I am also having a problem with channel 706, 750 and 758. I can view the channel during day time, but most of the time I can't view it at night. Both of my HD cable boxes are giving me the same result.

davisdog

12-06-07, 11:20 PM

Sunnyvale - 94086 - Wolfe/Old San Francisco

Dragunov1,

What new channels did you notice after you saw you were upgraded?...My parents are Hollenbeck/Knickerbocker so if you noticed some new ones after the upgrade, I'd like to ask them to tune to channel XXX and see if they have it (I'll never get them to check modem freq's :)

Dragunov1

12-07-07, 12:24 AM

Dragunov1,

What new channels did you notice after you saw you were upgraded?...My parents are Hollenbeck/Knickerbocker so if you noticed some new ones after the upgrade, I'd like to ask them to tune to channel XXX and see if they have it (I'll never get them to check modem freq's :)

All the ones in the brochure. Some are, 135-MTV2 for non HD, and 712-CW, 738-USA HD for HD channels.

MANNAXMAN

12-07-07, 10:22 AM

Dragunov1,

What new channels did you notice after you saw you were upgraded?...My parents are Hollenbeck/Knickerbocker so if you noticed some new ones after the upgrade, I'd like to ask them to tune to channel XXX and see if they have it (I'll never get them to check modem freq's :)

I am not too far from where your parents live. As of last night, that area still has no new channels.

If I remember to do it, I'll try checking my modem frequency tonight/this weekend.

hd-salee

12-07-07, 01:49 PM

I just got the upgrade! :) Sunnyvale near Wolfe/Old San Francisco! Everything up and working. Thank you comcast!
I also live near the Wolfe/Old San Francisco corner and have not seen the upgrades yet. I am in the Ponderosa Park area. Are you in the Braly area, across Old San Fran from Braly, or across Reed from Ponderosa. Just trying to figure what corner you are in and how close am I on getting the upgrades. Did you ever get the letter stating the changes will be between 11/15 and 12/15? I am still hoping we are upgraded by the 15th!

Thanks,
Steve

Dragunov1

12-07-07, 05:59 PM

I also live near the Wolfe/Old San Francisco corner and have not seen the upgrades yet. I am in the Ponderosa Park area. Are you in the Braly area, across Old San Fran from Braly, or across Reed from Ponderosa. Just trying to figure what corner you are in and how close am I on getting the upgrades. Did you ever get the letter stating the changes will be between 11/15 and 12/15? I am still hoping we are upgraded by the 15th!

Thanks,
Steve

Yes, I'm next to Braly, I saw cablecom trucks working on Wolfe today so it shouldn't be far off.

PS. I'm not sure why but GolTV is now in Spanish, I know there is 2 versions of it but before the upgrade it was English, now they put up Spanish.

profitman

12-07-07, 09:00 PM

Thanks for all the conversation guys. I just upgraded my limited basic with digital classic and a HD STB (Moto 6200) to complement my new th-42pe7u. Now I just need to wait for baseball season to start...

fender4645

12-08-07, 02:15 AM

Hey guys-

Can one or two of you with the 6mbps Internet package do me a huge favor and do speed test on the Speakeasy site? (http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/) Specifically, test the San Francisco, New York, and Chicago servers? Since I've moved, I get roughly 5mbps from the San Francisco servers but only ~700kbps from the New York and Chicago servers. I've noticed that certain sites load pretty slow and my Vonage connection is not very good. I have a tech coming out tomorrow and I'd like to have some "ammo" if they try to dispute this. You can just PM me with the results.

Thanks (and sorry for the off-topic question).

raghu1111

12-08-07, 03:03 AM

To NY I got 1.6Mbps down and 600kbps up. It is 6.2Mbps and 1.2Mbps up to SF.

pondria

12-08-07, 03:06 AM

I don't know what TV package I have. I got the $100/mo Triple Play deal. They gave me a small DCT700 STB, which I never used. Instead, I directly connect the cable to watch clear QAM HD channels. Now, if I want to watch ESPN HD and Discovery HD, EXACTLY what extra I should order ?

snidely

12-08-07, 04:06 AM

With all the basic, expanded basic and digital tiers by bill is over $80. Comcast said all those tiers are required to keep the VCR. All we watch is HD (well at least 80% of the time.) Never watch channels above 67 except HD.
When I called to ask if i could cut back on some of the tiers and told "no", i think the CS person sensed I might be considering other options (satellite). He said he could give me a 6 mo. promo for $66. I took it.

Comcast seems to be somewhat flexible. We have service w. them in a condo in Miami. The basic cable tiers are included in the condo fees. We pay for HD DVR. Also pay for internet. When our first year special internet of about $30/mo was up, the price almost doubled. When I called about that and pointed out I could get DSL from the phone company for $25, they said they'd give it to me for $35. I took it - because I really don't have a land phone line there. (I think Bell Atlantic/ATT is now required to offer DSL w.o. having voice service, but it wasn't worth the hassle to bother switching for $10/mo.

...mike

doc_co

12-08-07, 01:31 PM

I'm also getting the "channel will be available momentarily" message on TDCHD which is channel 750 here. But my wiring was redone less than 7 years ago and even the connections upgraded in 2003 when the cable box was installed. So there may be a problem down the line (there was with INHD back when they installed in 2003). I'll ping Comcast when I get a chance.

Was Comcast able to get this fixed? I have the same problem and some of the posts say the issue is with the filter that Comcast put in for people with Limited Basic. The frequency of channel 750 falls into the range of the filter so I'm not sure how they will fix it.

walk

12-08-07, 02:10 PM

SF: 20k / 1600
NY: 5k / 1500
Seattle: 10k / 1600

other network traffic affects your speeds also.

tex94

12-08-07, 02:48 PM

I have a DCT3416 and am wondering which audio settings are the best? I currently have it set to Auto but would LPCM be better? Does it convert everything to LPCM or will it only play PCM when that is available (which makes me wonder what it does if PCM is not available). I tried pass through by my receiver seemed to choke on that. Auto sounds fine but I noticed that my BluRay player (set to PCM) sounds much better even on standard old DVDs. Would switching to LPCM give me any improvement?

clau

12-08-07, 03:22 PM

To NY I got 1.6Mbps down and 600kbps up. It is 6.2Mbps and 1.2Mbps up to SF.

Shouldn't Power Boost be available for that speed test?

fender4645

12-08-07, 03:55 PM

Thanks, everyone.

walk, I've been keeping a log of all my speed tests (> 40) at various times during the day and night and do not see more than 200kbps difference whether I do it at 8:00am, 7:00pm, or 12:00am. I even did some tests connected directly to the cable modem w/ multiple computers to make sure it wasn't a faulty router or network connection. I was getting close to your speeds at my old house and I know that certain infrastructure differences can cause flux, but not to the degree of what I'm seeing.

keenan

12-08-07, 08:29 PM

No, I don't think any parts of Santa Rosa are done yet. Keenan has seen trucks around too. I predict my neighborhood will be last. :( Where in SR are you?

You're in Bennett Valley right? FWIW, I had to go the Comcast office today to complain about the service call charge on my bill, the one where they never fixed anything, and never called back, twice, like they said the would...anyway, the CSR, who seemed to be aware of the coming upgrade said very specifically that 5-6 nodes in Bennett Valley would be the first area to be lit up - apparently everything but On-Demand at first.

Nothing as far as my area, business as usual...

JasonQG

12-08-07, 09:41 PM

You're in Bennett Valley right? FWIW, I had to go the Comcast office today to complain about the service call charge on my bill, the one where they never fixed anything, and never called back, twice, like they said the would...anyway, the CSR, who seemed to be aware of the coming upgrade said very specifically that 5-6 nodes in Bennett Valley would be the first area to be lit up - apparently everything but On-Demand at first.

Nothing as far as my area, business as usual...

Wow, I hope that CSR is right. I thought for sure that we'd be last, but maybe the rich folks up in the hills have pull.

MANNAXMAN

12-09-07, 05:26 PM

Still can't figure out how to get the frequency from this site. I see this:

-----
PC Connectivity:
USB: Not Connected
Ethernet: 100 BaseT Full Duplex
USB Vendor ID: 06 cc
MAC Address: 00-E0-6F-88-25-CC
CM Model: TJ715x

Cable Signal: Ready
Tuning: Complete
Ranging: Complete

Data Service: Ready
Connecting: Complete
Configuring: Complete
Registering: Complete

Current state: Operational
Highest State Obtained: Operational
-----

Am I overlooking somthing?

Thanks,
Steve

That's interesting. I do not get that at all. I do not even have a Diagnostic link. Maybe it depends on the cable modem. I am using a Terayon cable modem.

Steve

I'm in 94087 and am using a Terayon cable modem as well. I get pretty much the same info you listed.

clau

12-09-07, 06:40 PM

I'm in 94087 and am using a Terayon cable modem as well. I get pretty much the same info you listed.

This is somewhat off-topic, but this page contains a host of valuable info on Comcast HSI:

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/comcast

In particular go to section 2.1 where they talked about different modems and how to access the signal diagnostics info.

reel_fan

12-09-07, 11:08 PM

If I switch to a Digital Cable package, can I still pick up analog channels? I have a couple of old S1 TiVo's that I am planning to continue to use for a short period of time.

Thanks.

fender4645

12-09-07, 11:25 PM

If I switch to a Digital Cable package, can I still pick up analog channels? I have a couple of old S1 TiVo's that I am planning to continue to use for a short period of time.

Thanks.

Yes. Right now they're doing a "simulcast" which means both analog and digital channels are sent into your home. If you connect a compatible Moto STB, that will receive the digital version but your S1's should continue to receive the analog feed.

wanderance

12-10-07, 01:56 PM

So this is odd, and I hope the gurus here can help :) everything has been working great for the past 6 months with my Series 3. I have phone, internet and cable via Comcast and have been very happy with the service. All of the sudden (around Thursday night) 703 (NBC) and 758 (HistoryHD) started having issues. The signal strength was all over the place, 703 would break up and 758 just wouldn’t come in. So I check my TiVoHD in my bedroom (which is closer to the drop) and I am getting great signal, and both those channels come in great.

So I did some troubleshooting and as soon as I swapped out the cable from my second splitter to the Series 3, the problem went away. Of course the cable was a Monster Cable (one of those really skinny ones that are hard to see) So for good measure I changed both splitters and ran a custom length cable (I was ambitious and got a compression fitting tool) to the Series 3. Everything seems to be working great now, however due to the issues I have been checking the diagnostic screens and I see the signal strength is between 81 and 86 on 758 and between 85 and 89 on 703. It also appears I have errors in the stream (RS Corrected and RS Uncorrected). On my bedroom TiVo the signals strength is 90 – 95 on both, and there are much fewer errors. Of course I never really looked at these screens before as everything appeared to be working fine.

My setup goes from the drop to a splitter. From the splitter it goes to my TiVoHD (bedroom) and through the wall to another splitter. That splitter goes to the cable modem / telephone box and about 30 feet to the Series 3. Before all this I had a splitter at the TV that split it to the Series 3 and to the TV. As I have never had a problem with the internet and / or phone so I assume it has something to do with the 30 foot run. I essentially have to go around a sliding glass door, hence the length. Is there a better way to run this?

sanne

12-10-07, 02:57 PM

wanderance

12-10-07, 05:50 PM

You might want to try adding a signal booster before you split. It's recommended to boost, then split the signal to wherever you need it to go. Don't have multiple splits, just do one big one if you can.

Motorola sells a great signal booster for cable TV/internet that runs about $50-60. It works amazingly well.

Thanks for the advice, I will give that a try. I was actually amazed the system worked so well, the previous tennant somehow sabatoged the cable wiring so the Comcast installer had to to some interesting stuff to get the cable into each room.

fender4645

12-10-07, 05:53 PM

Definitely try the amp. And as sanne said, do it before the split if possible. I have a Radio Shack model I got for $30 and it's worked quite well. It allows you to increase/decrease the amplification so you don't overload the pipe. I know people have scoffed at Radio Shack models but like I said...it's worked well for me.

clau

12-10-07, 06:30 PM

Durny1

12-10-07, 08:34 PM

I am not too far from where your parents live. As of last night, that area still has no new channels.

If I remember to do it, I'll try checking my modem frequency tonight/this weekend.

Ditto for me. Live nearby, and no new channels.

Durny

wanderance

12-11-07, 02:42 PM

A good place to get splitters is the local Comcast office. If you want to buy your own splitters, make sure they are 1GHz splitters. You may need a signal amplifier, and you want to get one that is designed for cable systems. They come with a return path bypass so that you have a clean return for your cable modem. Motorola makes one that you can buy online for about $40. It has excellent specs (2.5dB noise figure).

I was able to find the Motorola amp locally for $40, so I gave it a shot..and it did....nothing :)

Signal was the same with or without it, I tried putting it in a bunch of different places but didn't make a difference. So then I decided to just watch a bit of the one channel that was the worst (HistoryHD) and I ended up watching a few hours of “History Rocks” and didn’t notice a single thing wrong with it. Signal strength is around 85, but everything appears to work great. I guess I will be taking the booster back, along with the new splitters I got. The ones that Comcast used to hook me up originally give the same signal strength as with the Monster splitters. Looks like the only thing that was whacked was the cable.

keenan

12-11-07, 06:30 PM

The Borg gets bigger...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/10/SPA9TR869.DTL
Giants buy into cable station

sfhub

12-11-07, 07:01 PM

Signal was the same with or without it, I tried putting it in a bunch of different places but didn't make a difference.
Are you looking at the upstream or downstream signal strength? There should be some difference in downstream strength assuming your amp is installed correctly and power is attached to the amp.

wanderance

12-11-07, 07:29 PM

Are you looking at the upstream or downstream signal strength? There should be some difference in downstream strength assuming your amp is installed correctly and power is attached to the amp.

I was looking at the signal strength on my TV and my TiVo when tuned to the different channels.

fender4645

12-11-07, 08:16 PM

The Borg gets bigger...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/10/SPA9TR869.DTL
Giants buy into cable station

I love this part:

"In at least one sense, the Giants now have a stake in the A's success: The better Oakland's ratings are on the station, the more the Giants - as part-owners of the station - will benefit"

keenan

12-11-07, 09:08 PM

I was looking at the signal strength on my TV and my TiVo when tuned to the different channels.

I've noticed the same thing while trying to diagnose my pixelating problem, with or without the booster, the signal strength does not appear to change. Not sure what the deal is with that. Tried 2 different brand amps, no difference.

keenan

12-11-07, 09:10 PM

I love this part:

"In at least one sense, the Giants now have a stake in the A's success: The better Oakland's ratings are on the station, the more the Giants - as part-owners of the station - will benefit"

Really. :p

You'd think there'd be some sort of conflict of interest there. What happens when they play each other? :eek:

Brian Conrad

12-11-07, 11:13 PM

Was Comcast able to get this fixed? I have the same problem and some of the posts say the issue is with the filter that Comcast put in for people with Limited Basic. The frequency of channel 750 falls into the range of the filter so I'm not sure how they will fix it.

I haven't had them out yet. Following what the thread here I tried just the direct connection from the wall to the STB instead of going through the splitter and it made no difference. What channel is 750 on for folks here? I can check the signal strength with my HDHomeRun box. My bet is there is a problem out on the line somewhere.

davisdog

12-12-07, 01:45 AM

Really. :p

You'd think there'd be some sort of conflict of interest there. What happens when they play each other? :eek:

I think it would be better if they used this opportunity to combine the talent of both teams (and just field one)...that way we might have a competitive team next year (:rolleyes:

tex94

12-12-07, 10:26 AM

I have noticed that none of my custom HDMI settings are 'sticking' in my Comcast DCT 3416. I am wondering whether there was a firmware upgrade with a bug introduced or whether my box has just gone bad. Anyone else having the same issues or have any insight?

TPeterson

12-12-07, 12:14 PM

I've noticed the same thing while trying to diagnose my pixelating problem, with or without the booster, the signal strength does not appear to change. Not sure what the deal is with that. Tried 2 different brand amps, no difference.Typically, the "signal strength" meter for digital TV shows a statistic related to the error rate, so once the signal-to-noise is above the threshold for near-perfect decoding you'll see no further increase with any amplification. Contrariwise, if there's already more noise in the signal than is introduced by any of the downstream components (splitters, amplifiers, etc.) you'll also see no change in "signal strength" by adding an amplifier. The amplifier only helps if the thermal noise added by the downstream splitters is a significant factor in the signal that arrives at the DTV.

IOW, if adding an amplifier to a system with low "signal strength" (SNR) doesn't improve the reading, you didn't insert the amplifier far enough upstream in the signal path.

Fab2007

12-12-07, 01:11 PM

I'm in San Mateo and I have the same problem for USAHD. I'm skeptical about calling comcast to fix it. Has anyone done that yet?

I haven't had them out yet. Following what the thread here I tried just the direct connection from the wall to the STB instead of going through the splitter and it made no difference. What channel is 750 on for folks here? I can check the signal strength with my HDHomeRun box. My bet is there is a problem out on the line somewhere.

keenan

12-12-07, 01:55 PM

Typically, the "signal strength" meter for digital TV shows a statistic related to the error rate, so once the signal-to-noise is above the threshold for near-perfect decoding you'll see no further increase with any amplification. Contrariwise, if there's already more noise in the signal than is introduced by any of the downstream components (splitters, amplifiers, etc.) you'll also see no change in "signal strength" by adding an amplifier. The amplifier only helps if the thermal noise added by the downstream splitters is a significant factor in the signal that arrives at the DTV.

IOW, if adding an amplifier to a system with low "signal strength" (SNR) doesn't improve the reading, you didn't insert the amplifier far enough upstream in the signal path.
Yes, I think there is something further upstream, but when they came out they said the signal was fine. He checked 3 channels, 63(KTVU-KPIX) was at 6.8, 75(KNTV) was at 4.9, 76(I believe this is DHDT) was at 3.9. I'm not sure exactly what those numbers represent, but it's what comes up on his meter. Curiously, DHDT comes in fine, whereas KNTV(75) has occasional very brief periods of pixelation, and KGO, which was not checked, also has the occasional crawling pixelation. Never seem to have the problem with KPIX/KTVU.

He also noted readings for what I believe are RF analog channels, 2 was at 12.7, 36 was null as it's within the blocked freqs, 78 was at 5.8 and HSI was 4.09.

The sense I get is that the above readings are good enough per Comcast, but not good enough for the Series 3. It also seems a bit of an anomaly to me that one channel could be 6.9 and the other be 3.9 and that still be deemed "okay". I'm not sure the relativity of those readings though, what's good, what's bad, etc.

To compound matters, Comcast is utterly useless when it comes to addressing the problem, to put it another way, they just don't. I have had numerous in person and telephone contacts with Comcast regarding this problem, and to date, I'm waiting for a response of their query of the technician. That was over a week ago...honestly, it's like talking to a group of grinning idiots, they'll tell you anything to get you off the phone or out of the office.

At this point, I don't know if it is a Comcast problem, or a problem with the S3. What I do know is that 4-6 mos ago everything was fine, I would get S3 signal readings in the low 90's, whereas today they are in the low 80's, sometimes below, currently getting uncorrectable errors, where in the past I never got them.

So, I will probably get to the point where I'll take a hammer and start busting things up in the Comcast office(like that lady did back east :p ) to get their attention.

tcho82

12-12-07, 02:12 PM

doc_co

12-12-07, 02:16 PM

I'm in San Mateo and I have the same problem for USAHD. I'm skeptical about calling comcast to fix it. Has anyone done that yet?
I'm in 95116 and channel 750 is DSCHD (Discovery channel HD). I'm learning toward the filter problem as I have 3 boxes (all from Comcast) and none of them can get 750 working. My house is only 2 years old so I'm pretty sure the wiring is fine. I'll give Comcast a call tonight and see what they can do about it. I have Limited Basic + digital preferred so I should have DSCHD in my line up. It is part of Limited Basic in my area.

Fab2007

12-12-07, 02:23 PM

I'm actually sure that the USAHD is due to the filter, as I can see the frequency in the diagnostics and it's filtered out. I'm not sure Comcast will remove my filter if I don't update from Limited Basic. Let me know how it goes with you.

I'm in 95116 and channel 750 is DSCHD (Discovery channel HD). I'm learning toward the filter problem as I have 3 boxes (all from Comcast) and none of them can get 750 working. My house is only 2 years old so I'm pretty sure the wiring is fine. I'll give Comcast a call tonight and see what they can do about it. I have Limited Basic + digital preferred so I should have DSCHD in my line up. It is part of Limited Basic in my area.

hiker

12-12-07, 02:50 PM

FWIW, I have TiVo Series3 (cablecards) and DCT-6200 STB with Limited Basic (w/filter) and 738 USAHD comes in fine at 195 MHz.

juancmjr

12-12-07, 03:38 PM

According to the Press Democrat...

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20071212/NEWS/712120324/1033/NEWS01

Fab2007

12-12-07, 03:40 PM

I also have a Series 3 w/ cablecards, but my USAHD frequency is 495 MHz.

FWIW, I have TiVo Series3 (cablecards) and DCT-6200 STB with Limited Basic (w/filter) and 738 USAHD comes in fine at 195 MHz.

fender4645

12-12-07, 03:46 PM

I'm a newb here so go easy if this has been discussed in the last 148 pages.

I live in Fremont, in a large apt complex. I have comcast HSI and basic cable ($13). I have an Olevia 37 inch with a QAM tuner. I thought I would be able to pick up non-encrypted Local HD channels, but they seem to be all scrambled.

The only ones I pick up are odd ball channels.

What do I need to do to pick up the channels?

I currently have the signal from the wall jack going into a splitter which splits the signal between the Cable Modem and the Tivo Series 2 (non-HD). The TIVO coax line out then goes directly to the TV.

I had this exact setup at my home in Chicago before moving out here and it worked wonderfully. Is there something else that needs to be done? All I want are the local channels in HD. I can't pickup anything over the air.

Unless your apartment complex is doing something to the channels (which they're probably not) you should get all of the network channels. Are you getting any of channels (i.e. SD)? What are the "odd ball" channels?

As for OTA, you should get a decent signal from both Sutro and Mt. Bruno. Is there anything specifically blocking your view from the west and north-west?

tcho82

12-12-07, 04:04 PM

Unless your apartment complex is doing something to the channels (which they're probably not) you should get all of the network channels. Are you getting any of channels (i.e. SD)? What are the "odd ball" channels?

As for OTA, you should get a decent signal from both Sutro and Mt. Bruno. Is there anything specifically blocking your view from the west and north-west?

I get standard def channesl for my Tivo. Up to about 35, food network. The only channels I got on digital stations were random public access or infomercial type channels. No local main stations. I'm going to have to go back home and re try it all though. I just assumed that it was scrambled out here, until I got on the web and started to search and found this forum and thread.

As for OTA, I had a directional antenna that worked wonderfully getting signals from Chicago over 50 miles away at my house. The same antenna only will pick up CW in HD at my apt. There are other apts blocking a direct view. I'm on the 2nd floor facing another 3 floor apt.

keenan

12-12-07, 04:18 PM

According to the Press Democrat...

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20071212/NEWS/712120324/1033/NEWS01

There's a map in the hard copy. Areas lit up are Bennett Valley from Bennett Valley Road at Summerfield and out, and Petaluma Hill Road at what looks to be Kawana Springs south to Mountain View Rd. Should be great for folks in that area, although the area off Petaluma Hill Road is misleading as there's hardly any homes in that area. In fact, there's not a lot of homes in either of those areas.

A long ways from my domicile, as usual...still nothing to get exited about, and they can't be bothered to fix what I do have.

juancmjr

12-12-07, 04:50 PM

Areas lit up are Bennett Valley from Bennett Valley Road at Summerfield and out...

A long ways from my domicile, as usual...still nothing to get exited about

Bennett Valley Road at Summerfield is JasonQG's area from what he told me. Jason, did you get your new channels yet? Monty ward are you in this area as well?

As for the new service area, same here keenan. Long way from where I live. D'OH!!

JasonQG

12-12-07, 05:10 PM

Bennett Valley Road at Summerfield is JasonQG's area from what he told me. Jason, did you get your new channels yet? Monty ward are you in this area as well?

As for the new service area, same here keenan. Long way from where I live. D'OH!!

Nothing yet. Based on the map, I think I'm too far north. And note that the map key says it's areas that are going to be upgraded by January 1st, not even the areas that are going live today. I don't think any of us are getting the upgrade for a while yet....

keenan

12-12-07, 05:23 PM

Nothing yet. Based on the map, I think I'm too far north. And note that the map key says it's areas that are going to be upgraded by January 1st, not even the areas that are going live today. I don't think any of us are getting the upgrade for a while yet....

Yeah, as I noted, those areas that are shaded in the map contain very few homes, looks good for a front page article, but is really of little substance. It's basically a carrot dangling promo for Comcast, and the PD bit into hard(front page no less).

Matanzas Creek Winery probably got more HD channels today. :D

JasonQG

12-12-07, 05:36 PM

Yeah, as I noted, those areas that are shaded in the map contain very few homes, looks good for a front page article, but is really of little substance. It's basically a carrot dangling promo for Comcast, and the PD bit into hard(front page no less).

Matanzas Creek Winery probably got more HD channels today. :D

I was actually starting to feel a little optimistic when I saw three Comcast trucks in the neighborhood yesterday. I think now I'll revert to my prediction of 2010. It may still be accurate.

keenan

12-12-07, 05:47 PM

I was actually starting to feel a little optimistic when I saw three Comcast trucks in the neighborhood yesterday. I think now I'll revert to my prediction of 2010. It may still be accurate.

lol..probably.

I just returned an "urgent" call from DirecTV about upgrading my HD equipment. I was going to go with Comcast at my 2nd HDTV in another part of the house, but because we're still waiting for Comcast in my area, with no idea on when the upgrade will happen, I took DirecTV's offer to bring out another HD-DVR for that TV, for free! That makes 2 HD-DVRs from DirecTV in 4 mos for a total cost of $80. :D

JasonQG

12-12-07, 06:17 PM

With the amount of money you spend on various HD services, I'm surprised Comcast hasn't started their upgrades at your house specifically.

montyward

12-12-07, 06:50 PM

I'm in Rincon Valley, Winding Creek at Middle Rincon. I actually just signed up for an install for the 26th of December and bought an XPS 420 with dual ocur tuners. I thought the rollout would be sooner and hopefully it will be to my side of town. If I have to wait until the end of 2008, i'll be a bit tee'd off, mostly at myself.

I'm reasonably happy with Dish Network and the VIP 622, but I miss FSN-HD and KQED.

I got digital preferred with HDTV for $45 /month for a year. Once I feel the OCUR system is stable, I'll probably ditch the Dish.

Good to see a quorum from people in Santa Rosa on this board.

keenan

12-12-07, 06:59 PM

With the amount of money you spend on various HD services, I'm surprised Comcast hasn't started their upgrades at your house specifically.

lol...Comcast only gets $20 a month from me, and that's all they'll ever get until they upgrade the system.

On the areas that have been lit up, I think that's the same general area where AT&T has their U-verse thing, could be a contributing factor on why those areas were first.

MikeSM

12-12-07, 07:58 PM

lol..probably.

I just returned an "urgent" call from DirecTV about upgrading my HD equipment. I was going to go with Comcast at my 2nd HDTV in another part of the house, but because we're still waiting for Comcast in my area, with no idea on when the upgrade will happen, I took DirecTV's offer to bring out another HD-DVR for that TV, for free! That makes 2 HD-DVRs from DirecTV in 4 mos for a total cost of $80. :D

Would you be shocked to learn that DirecTV tracks where Comcast is doing upgrades and aggressively offers folks upgrades to help fend off churn? :-)

thx
mike

juancmjr

12-12-07, 08:23 PM

Would you be shocked to learn that DirecTV tracks where Comcast is doing upgrades and aggressively offers folks upgrades...

No wonder why we get at least 4 letters a week from DirecTV asking us to sign up... satellite service permeates my neighborhood; lots of Spanish speakers for soccer channels. Talk about spying!

keenan

12-12-07, 08:50 PM

Would you be shocked to learn that DirecTV tracks where Comcast is doing upgrades and aggressively offers folks upgrades to help fend off churn? :-)

thx
mike

No, I wouldn't. 3 months ago DirecTV wouldn't even consider swapping my HR10-250 for the MPEG4 DVR for free, as of a week ago they couldn't get it to me fast enough, the number they left was a direct line to a live person who answered on the 2nd ring :eek: and he had an install date of 1 week away(couldn't take advantage of the install date, won't be around), the point being of course, DirecTV isn't messing around, as you say, they are definitely going after current and new subs. The whole call couldn't have taken more than 10mins.

OTOH, I can't even get Comcast to be courteous enough to respond to my signal strength problems. The contrast between DirecTV and Comcast customer service for me lately is literally night and day.

walk

12-12-07, 10:15 PM

basic cable ($13)There's a trap on your line. Probably will have to subscribe to Standard cable ($50 or so) to get them to take it off.

lichen86

12-13-07, 12:39 AM

Hi Everyone-

I live off of Kawana Springs in Santa Rosa and I can report there has been no change in my cable as of yet. I even rebooted my Motorola box and there has been no change, no on demand, no additional channels, and no picture quality improvements.

Thanks for all the great info on this board!

keenan

12-13-07, 12:42 AM

nickybo

12-13-07, 11:22 AM

Check out this story at engadgethd:
http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/12/12/comcast-gives-twin-cities-11-new-hd-options/

Looks like our comcast brethren in the midwest are getting Sci-Fi HD. Any chance that we'll be getting it any time soon?

walk

12-13-07, 12:45 PM

any time soon = in time for BSG

TPeterson

12-13-07, 12:49 PM

There's a trap on your line. Probably will have to subscribe to Standard cable ($50 or so) to get them to take it off.

I get standard def channesl for my Tivo. Up to about 35, food network. The only channels I got on digital stations were random public access or infomercial type channels. No local main stations. I'm going to have to go back home and re try it all though. I just assumed that it was scrambled out here, until I got on the web and started to search and found this forum and thread.I also have the $13 basic service and the filter on my cable is a band-stop that blocks only the analog channels from the high 30s to the high 60s and does not affect HD clear QAM reception on my DTV. I have had trouble lately using the TV's auto scan to discover the HDTV channels though and I think that this had to do with Comcast's now-you-see-it-now-you-don't PSIP stream on those channels.

I suggest that you first of all directly connect your TV to the wall cable outlet without any splitters (for testing) and redo the scan. Then, assuming that fails, check out the SiliconDust channel listing (http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdhomerun/channels) for your zip code and try manually adding the indicated channels.

Brian Conrad

12-13-07, 03:00 PM

Comcast is coming by today. I'm still looking out my window for pigs flying as I actually got a knowledgeable CSR. What I was asking before was that if anyone knew what QAM channel 750 is on. According to my HDHR scan I have a couple encrypted channels at 125 and nothing above that.

BTW, I was just checking the channel and before switching the STB was tuned to KNTV which was running the first PSA I've seen for the digital transition.

smadden

12-13-07, 03:59 PM

Hey Everyone,

First off, thanks for all of the freely given information here. It really helped me put my system together at home. One of thing things I found difficult was piecing together an entire story about acquiring HD. Through lots of research, I finally was able to figure out what I needed to do, but it did take awhile.

Because of all the help I received, I went ahead and wrote up my entire experience on my site (including any relevant research tidbits), but the forums won't allow me to link until after three posts (spam-prevention).

It's currently the first post at pixelnomad dot com, if anyone thinks its valuable, let me know and I'll post a few more times so I can link it up. Or, feel free to link it up yourself. If anything is egregiously wrong, I'd be happy to update it.

Thanks again everyone, I am thoroughly enjoying my glorious HD.

keenan

12-13-07, 04:01 PM

tcho82

12-13-07, 04:03 PM

I did a rescan again today and do get the QAM channels now. It was really odd though, because the last time I did it, every local channel was scrambled.

keenan

12-13-07, 04:44 PM

Poochie

12-13-07, 08:03 PM

I've had a recurring problem with FSN-HD (720) in Sunnyvale. For the last few Sharks games, the channel doesn't come in at all. I was able to receive this in the past. I am still able to receive other premium HD channels (DiscHD, ESPN-HD) as well as the unencrypted ones like FOX/ABC/CBS/NBC and other non-HD digital channels, including Tuesday's Sharks game on FSNPlus. So I don't think the CableCards are completely inoperative. I'm using a TiVo S3 with 2 CableCards, and I'm subscribed to Digital Classic + expanded basic.

What I've noticed: when I go into the Diagnostics menu of the TiVo S3, it shows the cablecard associated with channel 720 tuned to 105000kHz (105MHz), and flipping between "QAM64" and "QAM256" mode. I'd speculate that is not a good sign [I believe everything digital should be QAM256] and showing no signs of locking onto a signal.

Anyone else seeing this? Is this maybe a sign that my area is in the midst of the much-awaited upgrade (I'm between Fair Oaks & Wolfe, between El Camino and Old San Francisco)? Any recommendations?

I've been resorting to watching the games recorded on the trusty TiVo S1 from FSN...argh!

Brian Conrad

12-13-07, 09:06 PM

The tech was just here. Apparently if you have a "grandfathered" package (I have Digital Gold) 750 isn't with it. They'll upgrade to Digital Preferred for the same price but I would lose Showtime for Starz (rather lose HBO for Starz). The tech agreed with me that the channel should show a "not authorized" message instead of the "one moment please." They probably didn't need to send out a tech for this but I would say things aren't quite sorted out with these channel changes.

fender4645

12-13-07, 09:09 PM

Brian Conrad

12-13-07, 10:29 PM

Nothing for the moment. I would probably watch Showtime more than Discovery anyway. I just thought it was a technical problem that needed looking into.

drew138

12-13-07, 11:03 PM

I'm instaling my Tivo HD next week and had a few questions. I live in San Francisco and I currently have the Comcast HD DVR and plan on dumping it for the T-HD. But I still want to be able to access the On Demand and HD OnDemand so I was going to ask Comcast to swap out my DVR for the non-DVR-HD-STB.

Does anyone know the model # of the non-DVR-HD-STB they use and if it has HDMI?

Does anyone know if I will need 1 multi-stream cablecard; or 2 cablecards for the T-HD?[/B]

Anyone attempt this setup? Anyone have any slick ideas on how to best integrate the standard HD-STB to access OnDemand? My current plan is to use a HDMI switcher, but I don't know if the STB has HDMI or not?

Thanks!

Drew

sfhub

12-14-07, 01:25 AM

OTOH, I can't even get Comcast to be courteous enough to respond to my signal strength problems. The contrast between DirecTV and Comcast customer service for me lately is literally night and day.
Comcast customer service is awesome as long as you don't need to call them :)

sfhub

12-14-07, 01:35 AM

Does anyone know if I will need 1 multi-stream cablecard; or 2 cablecards for the T-HD?
You need 1 M-stream card for the TiVo HD. The S3 needs 2 M-stream or 2 S-Stream cards.

I don't know the new CableCARD HD STBs they are giving out. The last I remember was the DCT-6200 which was an integrated unit. Probably if you look on Motorola's site for the DCH series you'll find what you are looking for, or Dave can chime in.

raghu1111

12-14-07, 02:10 AM

Anyone attempt this setup? Anyone have any slick ideas on how to best integrate the standard HD-STB to access OnDemand? My current plan is to use a HDMI switcher, but I don't know if the STB has HDMI or not?

DCT-6200 has DVI if you don't need audio over HDMI, then its good enough. I haven't heard of any later non-DVR HD boxes.

keenan

12-14-07, 02:32 AM

Comcast customer service is awesome as long as you don't need to call them :)

:D

All kidding aside, it's just this sort of thing that reinforces the public's low opinion of cable companies. The bottom line is it's really nothing more than a business decision, if they really cared, they would fix it. But, until the do nothing/don't care approach starts to eat at the bottom line due to sub erosion, it's what we'll continue to get, crappy-ass customer service.

Still waiting for a response from last contact with them, of course, as soon as I saw her write the info on a sticky note I knew that was as far as it was going to go, no doubt the trash can was where it was going to end up.

I'll be out in my garage in the morning looking for the biggest hammer I have, in fact, I have a nice little shorty sledge that will be perfect. :D

marswill

12-14-07, 08:02 AM

I got the Comcast HD service a couple of weeks ago. They installed a Motorola DCH3200 STB. I'm currently using the HDMI output. The manual for this STB is available online.

GBruno

12-14-07, 10:25 AM

:D

All kidding aside, it's just this sort of thing that reinforces the public's low opinion of cable companies. The bottom line is it's really nothing more than a business decision, if they really cared, they would fix it. But, until the do nothing/don't care approach starts to eat at the bottom line due to sub erosion, it's what we'll continue to get, crappy-ass customer service.

Still waiting for a response from last contact with them, of course, as soon as I saw her write the info on a sticky note I knew that was as far as it was going to go, no doubt the trash can was where it was going to end up.

I'll be out in my garage in the morning looking for the biggest hammer I have, in fact, I have a nice little shorty sledge that will be perfect. :D

So, My dad bought an HDTV. Ordered Triple Play. First appointment was cancelled. The second appiontment-some guy in a private pick-up truck shows up. Disconnects the SD Tivo Dad has temporarily hooked up. Installs a SD STB?? Admits that he has no HD boxes with him. Comes back the next day. Unhooks everything from the TV (HD-DVD, STB and the coax used for QAM). Hooks up the Motto, my dad sees an HD channel come up but the guy is stating that there is something wrong...7 calls to comcast...the guy goes to his truck and leaves???? He took the box with him but leaves everything unplugged.

OK this morning I am reviewing my comcast bill becasue it is $45 more then usual. There is a PPV charge for a fight on 11/23. I was home and I know know one ordered it. We have never used PPV. First CSR stated that "these boxes do not make mistakes"-no way to reverse the charge. THe Supervisor-very friendly and polite. Does some "research." He agrees to reverse the charge. What a waste of our time.

I call Directtv every day hoping to get someone to waive the $199 HD-DVR fee. THey wont do it in my area. I think I am going to go for it anyway. I should be day dreaming about sex, instead I enjoy dreaming about telling the retention department way I am cancelling my subscription. Thats not right

gb

drew138

12-14-07, 01:27 PM

I got the Comcast HD service a couple of weeks ago. They installed a Motorola DCH3200 STB. I'm currently using the HDMI output. The manual for this STB is available online.

Does anyone know if this box is available in San Francisco. Looks nice!

http://broadband.motorola.com/catalog/productdetail.asp?productID=518

keenan

12-14-07, 01:39 PM

I notice that box and the 3416 have 54MHz to 864MHz tuners, I guess having a 1GHz system is not such a big deal after all, at least for now.

keenan

12-14-07, 01:50 PM

So, My dad bought an HDTV. Ordered Triple Play. First appointment was cancelled. The second appiontment-some guy in a private pick-up truck shows up. Disconnects the SD Tivo Dad has temporarily hooked up. Installs a SD STB?? Admits that he has no HD boxes with him. Comes back the next day. Unhooks everything from the TV (HD-DVD, STB and the coax used for QAM). Hooks up the Motto, my dad sees an HD channel come up but the guy is stating that there is something wrong...7 calls to comcast...the guy goes to his truck and leaves???? He took the box with him but leaves everything unplugged.

OK this morning I am reviewing my comcast bill becasue it is $45 more then usual. There is a PPV charge for a fight on 11/23. I was home and I know know one ordered it. We have never used PPV. First CSR stated that "these boxes do not make mistakes"-no way to reverse the charge. THe Supervisor-very friendly and polite. Does some "research." He agrees to reverse the charge. What a waste of our time.

I call Directtv every day hoping to get someone to waive the $199 HD-DVR fee. THey wont do it in my area. I think I am going to go for it anyway. I should be day dreaming about sex, instead I enjoy dreaming about telling the retention department way I am cancelling my subscription. Thats not right

gb

That sort of service is just so unacceptable, yet they get away with it all the time. Evidently it's cheaper for Comcast to continue to provide crappy service, until such time, the amount of customers leaving warrants an investment in improving it.

Regarding DirecTV, have you asked about getting some programming credits? They seem to give them away like candy with HBO and SHO subscriptions.

Brian Conrad

12-14-07, 04:11 PM

GBruno

12-14-07, 05:49 PM

Keenan,
Good advice for setting up Direct-thanks.

THere is a rumor on the Monterey/Santa Cruz HD thread that we will finally be getting ABC-HD from comcast (at least during primetime). I am not sure what I am going to do (other than call comcast and compalin whenever they mess up). I really dont want to go with Direct-I dont need 80 to 150 HD channels. I watch about 10 max. ABC-HD is #1 on my want list. But I have little patience for substandard service-particualry if there is a better option.

I am grateful for this Forum. Without it I would be getting even less for my money than I get now!

keenan

12-14-07, 05:59 PM

The problem is we're seeing the Peter Principle applied to a large corporation. The larger it gets the more incompetent it becomes. Look at what they did yesterday. If the CSR I talked to had contacted or been able to contact the headend tech then the issue could have been resolved in a minute over phone without the service call. I'll stick to my grandfathered package for now because if I change I'll get the new package for the same price but according to the web site the price doubles after 3 months. No way that package is worth that. Neither is the lineup information in the November bill in any way complete enough for anyone to figure any changes out and really neither is the web site (which is not up to date at all for lineup). It's a scam plain and simple. We need to seriously regulate large cable monopolies or break them up.
It would take a lot to convince me that some of that incompetence isn't by design though. It's sort of like gas tanks on Pintos, it was cheaper to pay the insurance claims than reworking the design so that they were safer.

For every customer who they totally crap-on customer service-wise, there's probably 10 who have no problems. Comcast isn't in the customer service business, they're in it to make money, and if that means a percentage of their subs are dissatisfied with their performance, who cares, as long as it isn't effecting the bottom line.

mds54

12-14-07, 07:03 PM

.....It's sort of like gas tanks on Pintos, it was cheaper to pay the insurance claims than reworking the design so that they were safer.

Geeze.....I can't win :confused:
I had one of those "exploding" Pintos for my very first car, and now I have Comcast! :eek:

Derek87

12-14-07, 08:40 PM

anyone else having problems in Santa Clara...just got off the phone after an hour with Comcast with a regression of service.

i turned on the TV this afternoon to see that most of my Digital Classic HD channels were "not authorized (except for National Geographic, History, ESPNs and TBS)"...called...the guy monkeyed around with a lots of things including having me unplug (rather than hit the box from his end initially)...to make a long story short...now after all his handy work, i have no HD beyond the main stations except for national geographic. sigh!

he confirmed that my limited basic + HD + digital classic should give me everything except NFLHD and the premiums.

the only consolation i got was he offered me free HBO and Starz for the year but quite honestly, that is of no interest to me as the only thing that will come of that is that i'll forget next year that i had such a deal and call to cancel when noticed my bill went up (yes, i do watch _that little_ TV...if it weren't for ESPN or FSN-HD, i probably would just do limited basic + HD...or the former if and when i upgrade my TV to one with built in QAM)

anyway, i'm sitting here now witha box that he claims will fix itself in up to 3 hrs. i don't have much hope that such is the case, so i guess i'll swap it out at the local office tomorrow. fun fun (not!).

i have a 6200 and he said to ask for a 3200.

what do you guys think? i guess newer is better?

my only concern is that i'll now lose my nice calibration i had that i set up when INHD had test patterns to set up my TV. oh well. (the rep claimed that there is a test pattern on one of the other channels. anyone know where to find that? he unfortunately couldn't recall... :p )

Mike C

12-14-07, 09:42 PM

Same problem tonight here in Fremont, same lame answer reset the box and wait a couple hours for the channels to filter in. Cost going up and service is going down.

Mike

anyone else having problems in Santa Clara...just got off the phone after an hour with Comcast with a regression of service.

i turned on the TV this afternoon to see that most of my Digital Classic HD channels were "not authorized (except for National Geographic, History, ESPNs and TBS)"...called...the guy monkeyed around with a lots of things including having me unplug (rather than hit the box from his end initially)...to make a long story short...now after all his handy work, i have no HD beyond the main stations except for national geographic. sigh!

he confirmed that my limited basic + HD + digital classic should give me everything except NFLHD and the premiums.

the only consolation i got was he offered me free HBO and Starz for the year but quite honestly, that is of no interest to me as the only thing that will come of that is that i'll forget next year that i had such a deal and call to cancel when noticed my bill went up (yes, i do watch _that little_ TV...if it weren't for ESPN or FSN-HD, i probably would just do limited basic + HD...or the former if and when i upgrade my TV to one with built in QAM)

anyway, i'm sitting here now witha box that he claims will fix itself in up to 3 hrs. i don't have much hope that such is the case, so i guess i'll swap it out at the local office tomorrow. fun fun (not!).

i have a 6200 and he said to ask for a 3200.

what do you guys think? i guess newer is better?

my only concern is that i'll now lose my nice calibration i had that i set up when INHD had test patterns to set up my TV. oh well. (the rep claimed that there is a test pattern on one of the other channels. anyone know where to find that? he unfortunately couldn't recall... :p )

doc_co

12-14-07, 10:04 PM

sfhub

12-14-07, 10:09 PM

keenan

12-14-07, 10:24 PM

I was surprised to see what kind of CS you get when you have true cable competition, not this DTV/Dish-style competition where you need a dish, new wiring, new PVR, new remote codes, etc.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5787557#post5787557

Indeed, in fact, I've seen reports that indicate where there are over-builders the cable TV rates are some 20-30% lower for a given lineup/services when compared to where there is no competition, such as the bay area.

Bottom line being, you know they can charge less, and you know they can provide better service, but only if they have to due to competition. Otherwise, it's sticky notes about a service problem followup, no return phone calls, just a general "who cares" attitude.

Barovelli

12-14-07, 10:58 PM

I don't know the new CableCARD HD STBs they are giving out. The last I remember was the DCT-6200 which was an integrated unit. Probably if you look on Motorola's site for the DCH series you'll find what you are looking for, or Dave can chime in.

DCH3200s should be all over in ADS areas. Asking for HDMI is the key to that, the former HD boxes were not HDMI.

I've got a Q.
What's the feeling toward having to update CableCard TVs to use M-Cards? Most work fine with S-Cards, but some are picky with the M. It hurts to tell a customer "your TV needs a BIOS update". That's what you get when you have the privilege of owning your own.

I can see it now when things get all connected and high tech - "I cant start dinner because I need to defrag my refrigerator."

Fab2007

12-14-07, 11:52 PM

Same exact prob in san mateo (w/ same programming packages btw)
all I'm left with are 2 espn, hd theater and ngchd (no history hd for me).
At least I'm happy the guy didn't lie when he said other people had the same issue in the area

anyone else having problems in Santa Clara...just got off the phone after an hour with Comcast with a regression of service.

i turned on the TV this afternoon to see that most of my Digital Classic HD channels were "not authorized (except for National Geographic, History, ESPNs and TBS)"...called...the guy monkeyed around with a lots of things including having me unplug (rather than hit the box from his end initially)...to make a long story short...now after all his handy work, i have no HD beyond the main stations except for national geographic. sigh!

he confirmed that my limited basic + HD + digital classic should give me everything except NFLHD and the premiums.

the only consolation i got was he offered me free HBO and Starz for the year but quite honestly, that is of no interest to me as the only thing that will come of that is that i'll forget next year that i had such a deal and call to cancel when noticed my bill went up (yes, i do watch _that little_ TV...if it weren't for ESPN or FSN-HD, i probably would just do limited basic + HD...or the former if and when i upgrade my TV to one with built in QAM)

anyway, i'm sitting here now witha box that he claims will fix itself in up to 3 hrs. i don't have much hope that such is the case, so i guess i'll swap it out at the local office tomorrow. fun fun (not!).

i have a 6200 and he said to ask for a 3200.

what do you guys think? i guess newer is better?

my only concern is that i'll now lose my nice calibration i had that i set up when INHD had test patterns to set up my TV. oh well. (the rep claimed that there is a test pattern on one of the other channels. anyone know where to find that? he unfortunately couldn't recall... :p )

MikeSM

12-15-07, 01:04 AM

DCH3200s should be all over in ADS areas. Asking for HDMI is the key to that, the former HD boxes were not HDMI.

I've got a Q.
What's the feeling toward having to update CableCard TVs to use M-Cards? Most work fine with S-Cards, but some are picky with the M. It hurts to tell a customer "your TV needs a BIOS update". That's what you get when you have the privilege of owning your own.

I can see it now when things get all connected and high tech - "I cant start dinner because I need to defrag my refrigerator."

This didn't have to be this way. If cablelabs just certified gear that properly interfaced to card itself and didn't try and encrypt data between the card and the host (thereby assuring no equipment that Cablelabs didn't specifically approve would work), this wouldn't be so unreliable.

When the design of a system is so optimized to preventing unauthorized operation with "unapproved" devices (not unauthorized reception of programming - that's a different function and unrelated to the cards not working in devices), one should not be shocked that things fail to work right a fair amount of the time.

Thanks,
mike

Derek87

12-15-07, 02:18 AM

i actually didn't ask for it. he offered it. actually, i really think the tech wasn't very experienced. he was trying blindly to get things to work, so he added HBO and Starz to see if those would come through ok (they did).

i know, most people probably think i'm lame that i turned it down (my friend told me so :p), and in hindsight, maybe i should have kept it...but i decided to just avoid the hassle and i was sort of hoping he would give me some other credit instead (wishful thinking).

But as the subject line above says: things are ok now. weird...guess it saves me a trip to Comcast tomorrow.

proving i'm a total oddball, i actually don't mind the component connections to my TV since i only have one HDMI on my old (2.5 yr?) Sharp Aquos and moreover, my panel was calibrated from the old days when they always had the test pattern on INHD.

are other people back up and running?

(BTW, 750 is still lame: audio is fine, but video is pixelated...)

What did you do to get him give you free HBO and Starz? I have the same problem but when I called, the rep didn't say anything, he just scheduled a technician visit for me and asked me to call back when it is fixed so they will credit me for the lost service.

Mike C

12-15-07, 12:40 PM

Started working again last night around 11pm. Two calls to Comcast, second one resulted in a trouble ticket then later that night they started working again.

Mike

i actually didn't ask for it. he offered it. actually, i really think the tech wasn't very experienced. he was trying blindly to get things to work, so he added HBO and Starz to see if those would come through ok (they did).

i know, most people probably think i'm lame that i turned it down (my friend told me so :p), and in hindsight, maybe i should have kept it...but i decided to just avoid the hassle and i was sort of hoping he would give me some other credit instead (wishful thinking).

But as the subject line above says: things are ok now. weird...guess it saves me a trip to Comcast tomorrow.

proving i'm a total oddball, i actually don't mind the component connections to my TV since i only have one HDMI on my old (2.5 yr?) Sharp Aquos and moreover, my panel was calibrated from the old days when they always had the test pattern on INHD.

are other people back up and running?

(BTW, 750 is still lame: audio is fine, but video is pixelated...)

sfhub

12-15-07, 12:45 PM

I've got a Q.
What's the feeling toward having to update CableCard TVs to use M-Cards? Most work fine with S-Cards, but some are picky with the M. It hurts to tell a customer "your TV needs a BIOS update". That's what you get when you have the privilege of owning your own.
I think that sucks, but in effect is no big deal, because CableCARDs in TVs are basically dead. If you guys need S-Card inventory for TVs, retrieve them from TiVo S3's swapping in M-Cards since the S3 can handle either in S-Mode.

The place where people care about CableCARDs is the DVR and those either from good design or being burned in the past make it simpler if not automatic to get firmware upgrades.

profitman

12-15-07, 03:15 PM

Started working again last night around 11pm. Two calls to Comcast, second one resulted in a trouble ticket then later that night they started working again.

Mike

I had the same issue in Dublin, CA last night. I called and the guy told me they did an "audit" of services that morning and "moved the digital classic HD packages to a premium tier", "there are no digital classic HD channels now", I almost blew a gasket, they had just sent out those pricing/channel updates two weeks ago, I just hung up and was planning on going to the office on Mon in person to deal with it. 2 hours later the channels just came back on. Unbelievable customer service!:confused:
Three out of four times I've had to call that 800 number I've gotten useless tools helping me, and the 4th time I just had to tell the guy to ping my box.
Sorry for the rant...

sfhub

12-15-07, 07:23 PM

I had the same issue in Dublin, CA last night. I called and the guy told me they did an "audit" of services that morning and "moved the digital classic HD packages to a premium tier", "there are no digital classic HD channels now",
I'm sure it doesn't really work this way, but it sounds like they don't really have control over the channels and they can walk off and join any tier they want. They only find out after the fact by doing an audit. I remember the Air Force had the same problem with the warheads.

keenan

12-15-07, 07:26 PM

lol...:p:D

TivoDude

12-16-07, 12:16 PM

I am currently a DirecTV customer using SD only DTivos. I am interested in switching to Comcast and upgrading to a Tivo HD.

I have read a lot of this thread about how you can subscribe to just Limited Basic, Digital Classic, and cable cards.

My two questions:

1) I noticed that channel 722 is shared between VS and Golf. Is there a schedule as to what hours each is available?

2) We watch mostly locals and am mostly interested in HDTV, but there are a couple of shows my family "needs" that are still SD. I assume you still get all the SD Digitial Classic channels, but not the "expanded basic" ones? In other words, will I get Nick Toons (126) in SD, but I won't get Nickelodeon?

Thanks in advance. This is a great forum.

profitman

12-16-07, 01:12 PM

2) We watch mostly locals and am mostly interested in HDTV, but there are a couple of shows my family "needs" that are still SD. I assume you still get all the SD Digitial Classic channels, but not the "expanded basic" ones? In other words, will I get Nick Toons (126) in SD, but I won't get Nickelodeon?

Thanks in advance. This is a great forum.

Your right about getting the digital classic, but not expanded basic (if that's what you want), that's how I'm set up.

hiker

12-16-07, 01:14 PM

...
will I get Nick Toons (126) in SD, but I won't get Nickelodeon?
...Yes, I get 126 with just Limited Basic and Digital Classic + all the other Digital Classic channels listed on the channel list that came with the last price sheet.

reel_fan

12-16-07, 02:08 PM

Anyone know if Livermore is getting M Cards? This would be for a TiVo HD.

Thanks.

tomdkat

12-16-07, 09:30 PM

I've been watching football games with my dad today on channels 703 (Raider game) and 705 (part of the Packers game) and we noticed this about the volume level on these channels when compared to channels 3 and 5:
The HD broadcast of the game has a lower volume than the analog broadcast NTSC upconverted commercials on the HD channels have a MUCH louder volume than the HD games and a somewhat louder volume than HD commercials Overall volume on the HD channels was lower than compared to the analog channelsI've got a Motorola 6200 (6200 is on a sticker on the back) silver HD cable box and I've got analog audio an connection to my Toshiba 57HX81 HD monitor. I use component video connections for video.

Any ideas as to why the audio on the HD channels is so much lower than on analog channels?

Thanks!

EDIT: I'm in Hayward. :)

Peace...

sfhub

12-16-07, 10:24 PM

Are you using RCA L/R or digital connection for the audio?

If you are using RCA L/R, look at the audio settings for the box. There is an audio setting for compression. You want this setting at high or Dolby Digital sound will sound low on RCA L/R.

It could be something else also so the more you post about the problem, the more clues we'll have.

hd-salee

12-17-07, 05:19 AM

Well, I knew it was too good to be true. Got a letter some time back that the upgrades to my area (Sunnyvale - Wolfe, Lawrence, El Camino, Reed) will be done between 11/15 and 12/15. It's now the 16th with no changes whatsoever. Is it possible to flame them with false advertising, but I guess that's part of comcast life! I guess I'll keep crossing my fingers and hope Santa will give us a nice present soon. A friend who lives several blocks aways got a letter showing before 1/4/08. Let's see if comcast can keep their word on this next promised date.

- Steve

rxp19

12-17-07, 12:09 PM

Any ideas as to why the audio on the HD channels is so much lower than on analog channels?

EDIT: I'm in Hayward. :)

I'm in Hayward too and I have the same problem. I played with the audio settings on the Motorola box (I also have a 6200) which helped a little. I just resorted to turning up the volume on the HD channels.

sanne

12-17-07, 02:21 PM

Until Comcast switches over all it's analog channels to the digital domain you will have to deal with the varying volume levels.

clau

12-17-07, 02:25 PM

rsra13

12-17-07, 05:51 PM

MikeSM

12-17-07, 06:40 PM

New HD channels!!!

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=956752

... in Minnesota :p

I hope we receive most of those channels pretty soon. I mean, even Santa Rosa is going 1 GHZ now, we should have enough space, right???

Don't hold your breath. I live in an 850 Mhz market, and we get no more channels than a 750 Mhz market. I doubt it would be different for 1 Ghz.

Comcast is not moving urgently to roll out HD wherever they can squeeze it in.

I suspect after they and DirecTV release next quarter's results that may change.

Brian Conrad

12-17-07, 07:26 PM

And then they'll figure out some way to gouge even more money out of you for them rather than just creating an HD tier for those of us who almost never watch SD.

On sound switching KTVU needs to watch levels between the network feed and when they go to news as the news show is at least 4 DB louder on my system than the rest of the feeds. KNTV has the reverse problem though they don't do news in HD yet as I have to turn up their newscast. Looks like KTVU may have one or two HD field cameras now.

sfhub

12-17-07, 07:27 PM

Until Comcast switches over all it's analog channels to the digital domain you will have to deal with the varying volume levels.
Why's that? The most emphasis in the original complaint was SD upconvert commercials, on an otherwise HD broadcast, were much louder than the audio from the HD broadcast. That sounds like a conversion audio level misconfig to me. If you can determine the source of the problem it can be addressed there for everyones' benefit.

keenan

12-17-07, 07:27 PM

Don't hold your breath. I live in an 850 Mhz market, and we get no more channels than a 750 Mhz market. I doubt it would be different for 1 Ghz.

Comcast is not moving urgently to roll out HD wherever they can squeeze it in.

I suspect after they and DirecTV release next quarter's results that may change.

I've noticed that current STBs only receive up to 850MHz or so, so anything beyond that is useless. Not sure what the TiVo does, but the Moto's all seem to indicate 850 as the upper freq limit.

sfhub

12-17-07, 07:32 PM

I've noticed that current STBs only receive up to 850MHz or so, so anything beyond that is useless. Not sure what the TiVo does, but the Moto's all seem to indicate 850 as the upper freq limit.
I have no evidence of this, just thinking out loud, but if the cable modem equipment can handle 1GHz, then they could move that stuff higher freeing up bandwidth below 850 that the STBs could use.

keenan

12-17-07, 07:54 PM

I have no evidence of this, just thinking out loud, but if the cable modem equipment can handle 1GHz, then they could move that stuff higher freeing up bandwidth below 850 that the STBs could use.

Yes, I was thinking about that, in fact, I just looked at some cable modem specs yesterday, don't recall what it said though.

The Arris TM502G is good to 860MHz and the Moto SB5101 looks like 42MHz upstream, can't really tell downstream on the Moto. I guess the Arris is used in digital phone installs?

http://www.arrisi.com/product_catalog/_docs/_specsheet/060510_Touchstone_Telephony_Modem_TM502G.pdf
060510_Touchstone_Telephony_Modem_TM502G.pdf (application/pdf Object)

http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers/products/sb5101/downloads/SB5101_datasheet_706.pdf
SB5101_datasheet_706.pdf (application/pdf Object)

The 3400 series is good to 864MHz and the 62/4xx series is goes to 860MHz.

http://broadband.motorola.com/catalog/product_documents/Final%20DCT6400%20Series%20Product%20Data%20Sheet%20Updated% 20%20514630-001-a.pdf
Final DCT6400 Series Product Data Sheet Updated 514630-001-a.pdf (application/pdf Object)

http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers/products/DCT3400/downloads/DCT3400.pdf
DCT3400.pdf (application/pdf Object)

So I'm guessing 1GHz is basically for future use, not usable for currently deployed/deploying equipment.

raghu1111

12-17-07, 08:03 PM

I replaced 6200 with DCH-3200 (why not!). The unit looks pretty good. I wish I could dim t he front display.

The first thing I noticed is that SD would look much darker (better in many cases) than before. I think 3200 is doing the right thing with digital channels. If someone used same settings for HD and SD, SD would have looked much duller with 62 series (to offset this, I had to use black level "Dark" for SD and black level "Light" with HD on my Panasonic). But with 3200 I don't need to do that. comparing Ch 2 and Ch 702 looks around the same (w.r.t colors). This might a big reason some thought SD looks much better. Some one mentioned with digital channels and media we should not have to use black level "Dark". I don't know if any thing other than the colors (black level) is different since I can't compare side by side.

I wonder what other stuff this box is doing better. I briefly checked response to FF/RW etc on hd OnDemand, I think it is faster.

ayewbf

12-17-07, 09:11 PM

Comcast is not moving urgently to roll out HD wherever they can squeeze it in..I thought I had read somewhere here that comcast was trying to roll out new HD each month? Has that changed after the channel renumber fiasco last month? I have to admit I'd rather not have them bother adding just a couple channels if it involves 2 weeks of guide data problems.
I suspect after they and DirecTV release next quarter's results that may change.
Not sure why comcast has to wait for their public announcement of their revenue. Internally they should be well aware of how things are going.

Dear Santa, pretty please have your elves design a directv tuner card for windows media center so that I have a decent PVR alternative. Now that media center PCs with cablecard tuners can be had for cheap, this should be practical.

MikeSM

12-18-07, 12:21 AM

I thought I had read somewhere here that comcast was trying to roll out new HD each month? Has that changed after the channel renumber fiasco last month? I have to admit I'd rather not have them bother adding just a couple channels if it involves 2 weeks of guide data problems.

Not sure why comcast has to wait for their public announcement of their revenue. Internally they should be well aware of how things are going.

Dear Santa, pretty please have your elves design a directv tuner card for windows media center so that I have a decent PVR alternative. Now that media center PCs with cablecard tuners can be had for cheap, this should be practical.

We have assertions by comcast that they will be rolling out more HD channels to remain competitive. But DirecTV rolled out over 50 national HD channels in the last 3 months and comcast rolled out 5. Well, they still carry KRON in HD - Direct can't touch that yet!

If DirecTV adds another 600,000 or more subs this quarter, mostly at the expense of Cable, then investor pressure will increase to force them to take action.

Don't get me wrong, I think quite a lot of Comcast, and have friends back in Philly who work for them. However, they are really laggards in terms of new products and services. Look at Time-Warner - they have aggressively deployed SDV as a stopgap to an all digital system, and were more aggressive in launching voice, and have signed a lot more HD programming agreements.

Comcast is pushing voice aggressively now, but has no SDV deployed, and hasn't deployed a 16/2 internet tier outside of markets that they compete with FIOS in. They upgrade plant, but offer no more channels in upgraded areas than the base 750 Mhz systems, and is behind the 8 ball on programming deals.

As for DirecTV, don't expect anything from them in terms of a "card" for media center. Their relationship with MSFT isn't very good, and they feel NO PRESSURE from cablecard in MCE since it has been a disaster from a product perspective. They are cleaning the clock of the cable guys right not just with better HD programming, but much better DVR's that even can network with PC's in the house to display music and photos on the DVR. The cable guys STB's are a joke compared to the DirecTV boxes.

Comcast has all the tools needed to wipe the floor with the DBS guys, but they got fat dumb and happy, and sat on their a** while DirecTV built new satellites and signed up a bunch of programmers. Now they need to move fast, but they really aren't set up that way.

I take that back a little - the New England division of Comcast is pretty aggressive, expect to see new products and competitive offerings there first, and eventually it'll trickle down to us here. After all, out here there is no FIOS, only the joke called U-verse from AT&T. If AT&T were as agressive as VZ on fiber deployments, Comcast would REALLY be in a fix.

ayewbf

12-18-07, 03:54 AM

They are cleaning the clock of the cable guys right not just with better HD programming, but much better DVR's that even can network with PC's in the house to display music and photos on the DVR. The cable guys STB's are a joke compared to the DirecTV boxes.
Violently disagree on the dvr part, which is what I was hinting at with my Dear Santa comment. In its day, the tivo hr10-250 dvr was by far the best, thus I was with directv. Now the tivo s3 is preferable to what directv offers (no longer by that much I admit), thus I'm with comcast. Service provider that lets me use the best equipment wins. That is unless compelling content can sway the decision. But most HD content is on either provider, so it still comes down to the equipment.

wanderance

12-18-07, 01:55 PM

sfhub

12-18-07, 02:05 PM

Signal quality issues are usually localized to your head-end. Sometimes the channel source has problems, sometimes certain frequencies have problems but others are fine. See if the HD channel that shares the frequency with HIST-HD has signal issues also. For my area, HIST-HD and TBS-HD share the same channel (the one vacated by CSPAN2)

History HD is 100 on my S3.

MikeSM

12-18-07, 03:02 PM

Violently disagree on the dvr part, which is what I was hinting at with my Dear Santa comment. In its day, the tivo hr10-250 dvr was by far the best, thus I was with directv. Now the tivo s3 is preferable to what directv offers (no longer by that much I admit), thus I'm with comcast. Service provider that lets me use the best equipment wins. That is unless compelling content can sway the decision. But most HD content is on either provider, so it still comes down to the equipment.

Sorry, I was talking about the Moto boxes that Comcast ships. The Tivo S3 is very good, and better that the DirecTV boxes, but as you say, not by that much any more.

So I think we are actually in violent agreement, not disagreement, unless you have some weird Moto fetish that I missed...

MikeSM

12-18-07, 03:06 PM

Is anyone else having wierdness with HistoryHD (758)? Every other HD channel and digital channel (from all that have looked at) have at least a 90 on the signal strength most have 95 or 100, HistoryHD is 86 and sometimes drops to an 81. It is also the only channel that will give me RS Corrected and RS Uncorrected Errors. I have noticed it will break up every few minutes now and again.

This is all based off my Series 3 and TiVoHD. Other channels that are around the same frequency (I haven't looked that closely) come in fine as well. Of course the one problem channel I have has to be HistoryHD!

If you are getting FEC errors (RS uncorrected), then something is very wrong. You should call Comcast and get them to come out and see what's broken. It's possible you may have a neighbor on the same tap modulating inhouse channels on that frequency, but without sticking it behind a drop amp or filter, thereby allowing it to leak out and interfere. If it's actually channel 100 on the plant, that adds to my suspicion that that is what's going on, since that's a nice round number someone might choose.

I sure wish amateurs would stay away from RF modulators without adult supervision!

Thx
mike