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

Thanks for the info! I will probably give Comcast a call after the holidays, things are a bit hectic right now, plus there are presents and a tree right where the cable line comes out :)

I'm having a kind of weird issue with my TV programming.
I have 3 boxes at home. One is an SD only box, the other is a old Moto DVR, the ones with DVI. The last one is a DCH3416, the ones with smart cards.
Well, in this last box OnDemand is not working, it was working fine a few weeks ago and then it stopped working. I didn't change anything in my setup. OnDemand is working fine in the other 2 boxes.
Last week i was browsing channels, just wasting time and forgot that HBO-HD was the next channel, I usually skip the channels I don't subscribe, but then "magic" happened. It showed the channel!. I thought it was a free week of HBO or something like that and didn't think more about it. Then last weekend in my bedroom, with the old DVR, I remembered about the "free" HBO and tried to watch the channel, of course it showed that I wasn't subscribed to it. Later I tried in the SD box and it was the same. I have the DCH box connected to a projector, so I didn't want to check just for that.
Last night I remembered and tried HBO-HD, and yeah it worked!. Cinemax is also viewable. Starz is not. I'm subscribed to Showtime so that always works. I checked the SD channels and they are available too.
I know that when people post free channels in this forum Comcast always fix the problem. I really don't care if I lost the channels.
So, I'm really curious about this, what could be happening here? Is it something related to the smart cards?

I am in 94086 (near Mary & Washington) and haven't gotten a letter yet.

I did email their support via the website and got a canned response back, saying basically that they can't commit to any dates. Seems like we're the last in the world to get the upgrade. And, I'm seriously considering switching to DirecTV because I'm tired of paying for a very nominal HD service and no on-demand.

Here is their email reply:


Comcast is committed to deploying HDTV service. We are working to
provide as many high definition channel broadcasters as possible. Here
are some of the factors involved with expanding our high definition
lineup:

-the negotiation and contract process required to obtain the rights to
carry a specific high definition broadcast, such as TNT-HD and HD-Net.

-the increased bandwidth resources which are required

-the relatively low number of subscribers (currently only a small
minority of customers have high definition compatible television sets)

We will continue to explore additional HD programming opportunities as
more content providers make plans to offer their programming in HD
format.

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide specific details regarding the
launch of new channels at this time, please keep an eye on your monthly
billing statement as the announcement of any channel additions will
appear on those statements.

We are looking to acquire more HD channels in early 2008


Thank you for choosing Comcast.

Hello all! I've been reading this forum for a few months now, and my frustration leads me to my first post! I live in Sunnyvale (94087) near Sunnyvale-Saratoga & Remington. No upgrades (or even upgrade letters for that matter).

I have a Tivo HD with an M-Card. About a week and a half ago, my digital channels and internet were not working when I came home from work. I tried the usual suspects (plugging, unplugging, checking all of the connections) and did not fix the problem. So, I placed a call in to Comcast Customer-No-Service. I told the rep the problem I was having and he verified my account information and said I was disconnected because I had not paid my bill. I checked it out, was surprised to realize that he was correct (doh!), and paid with him over the phone. He told me the cable would come back on immediately and the internet might take a couple of hours. The digital channels did come back on, but over the next few hours I noticed that my ABC-HD and KQED-HD (707 & 709) were not working. FOX-HD (702), NBC-HD (703), CBS-HD (705), & and ESPN-HD (723) seemed fine and FSN-HD (720), Discovery-HD (722), and HBO-HD (730) were plagued with digital blocking.

The next day I made a second call to Comcast, followed by a third and a fourth and a fifth. My tales are chronicled here:

Call 2: "I'll send a hit to your M-Card. It should fix the problem in the next 15 minutes or so." Didn't work.

Call 3: "They're splicing in your area, so channels will be going in and out. Everything should be taken care of within the next 48 hours." 96 hours later, nada.

Call 4: "I'll send a hit to your M-Card. It should fix the problem in the next 15 minutes or so." Didn't work.

Call 5: I'll give you a hint... same thing as call 2 and call 4.

So, last night, I decided to make one final desperate call to Comcast Customer Service. The guy tells me that I need to know something about "these things" (meaning Tivo HD) before I start using them. "You can't just take one of these things out of the box and plug it in and expect it to work. They have a setup. Did you set it up?" At this point, I realize that this guy is taking me for a complete idiot (not to mention the fact that I'm pretty sure he has never seen a Tivo before.) After unplugging and re-plugging (sounds familiar, huh?) the Tivo to humor him, the problem was still not fixed. So, he schedules a technician to come out to my house and install a new M-Card in about 2 weeks!

I have a sneaking suspicion that the problem is on their end. Especially since everything was working fine before I forgot to pay the bill. Is there any way to confirm this? Can I use the Cable Card tools on the Tivo to see if the signal coming into my box is strong enough? It's bad enough that I only get 7 HD channels... but when 2 of them aren't working and 3 of them are practically unwatchable, this is getting ridiculous. Not to mention getting chastised for having a Tivo HD every time I call Customer Service. When I call again I would like to be a little more informed about what might be causing the problem I'm having. HELP!

Jeremy

If it's actually channel 100 on the plant
I believe the "100" in the original post was describing the signal strength.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the problem is on their end. Especially since everything was working fine before I forgot to pay the bill. Is there any way to confirm this? Can I use the Cable Card tools on the Tivo to see if the signal coming into my box is strong enough? It's bad enough that I only get 7 HD channels... but when 2 of them aren't working and 3 of them are practically unwatchable, this is getting ridiculous. Not to mention getting chastised for having a Tivo HD every time I call Customer Service. When I call again I would like to be a little more informed about what might be causing the problem I'm having. HELP!
One way to determine that is to check with your neighbors to see if they are having problems also. If multiple people call in about the same problem in the same area, there is a threshold where they consider it an outage and send someone out right away.

One way to determine that is to check with your neighbors to see if they are having problems also. If multiple people call in about the same problem in the same area, there is a threshold where they consider it an outage and send someone out right away.

Will do, thanks!

So, I'm really curious about this, what could be happening here? Is it something related to the smart cards?

Sounds like it's not on your account correctly and is getting the temp enable - premiums and no VOD.

Should shut down soon.

This may sound like a really dumb question, but how do sign up for a major High Definition Pay Per View UFC, Pride, K1, Boxing event? My brothers order this stuff all the time on DirecTV and DishNetwork in HD. I dont really watch much sports to complain about not having Sunday Ticket... but not having PPV HD Fighting is kind of ridiculous.

This is where I tried to look.. which makes most sense:
I look for things in On Demand under "HD On Demand"... sports and dont see anything there except for Verses.

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.

You ought to check out the Dish VIP-622 or 722 if you want to see a gem of a DVR. It can record three channels at one time while playing back two files already recorded... and they all can be HD. It's reliable and easy to use too! I love my 622.

Larry
SF

Finally switched to Comcast HSI, free equipment, self install, and $150 cash back which will cover just about the first 7 mos of service. I'm pretty happy with that, as long as it stays reliable.

It can record three channels at one time while playing back two files already recorded... and they all can be HD. It's reliable and easy to use too! I love my 622.
I thought 622 could record 2 channels simultaneously, not 3? Does it have 3 tuners?

I thought 622 could record 2 channels simultaneously, not 3? Does it have 3 tuners?

You can record 2 SAT HD channels and 1 OTA HD channel all at the same time.

I agree with Larry, the Dish 622 is a heck of a DVR, I didn't think you could playback 2 HD recordings though, I'm pretty sure only 1 HD and 1 SD(hooked to another display) can be played at one time.

Menu speeds are lightning fast, and the guide data is wonderful, giving episode number and original air date all in the one screen. DirecTV's guide data is next to worthless in comparison. That's something I wish TiVo would do, put the airdate in the initial program info popup instead of having to tunnel down to find it.

Finally switched to Comcast HSI, free equipment, self install, and $150 cash back which will cover just about the first 7 mos of service. I'm pretty happy with that, as long as it stays reliable.

So you're only paying $20 or so a month? For how long? Did you get the Performance Tier (8Mbps down)?

I signed up about a month ago, and didn't get any free equipment or cash back. They gave me a good deal for 12 months, though. Power Boost is fast.

So you're only paying $20 or so a month? For how long? Did you get the Performance Tier (8Mbps down)?

I signed up about a month ago, and didn't get any free equipment or cash back. They gave me a good deal for 12 months, though. Power Boost is fast.

Signed up for the 6mb service($19.95 for 6 mos), but most of the speed tests I've done so far is over that, probably that PowerBoost thing, and the upload is around 1800kbps, for SF anyways.

SF 30150/1728
LA 14009/1277
NY 4436/587
DC 5370/583
Sea 8544/1058

Got it through Circuit City, you pay $80 for the Moto Surfboard, that gets rebated back for an end cost of $0. Plus, they're giving you $150 cash, not sure if that's coming from Comcast or Circuit City, but you mail in 3 rebate forms, $20, $60 and $150.

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.Thanks for the suggestion. I'm using the RCA L/R analog audio connection right now but I was using the digital audio connection when my A/V receiver was operational (it's dead now). I'll look into this.

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.Thanks for the feedback. Which settings helped the most?

Peace...

I guess everyone overlooked my post... reposting..

This may sound like a really dumb question, but how do sign up for a major High Definition Pay Per View UFC, Pride, K1, Boxing event? My brothers order this stuff all the time on DirecTV and DishNetwork in HD. I dont really watch much sports to complain about not having Sunday Ticket... but not having PPV HD Fighting is kind of ridiculous.

This is where I tried to look.. which makes most sense:
I look for things in On Demand under "HD On Demand"... sports and dont see anything there except for Verses.

I doubt if Comcast has live PPV in HD... for past events you could try calling Comcast. It would mostly take a huge upgrade for OnDemand for it to support live PPV. For now Comcast would need to sacrifice a channel to support PPV HD.

Huh?? I dont believe this... Can someone please confirm this. How is it possible Comcast could be so backwards? I remember a long time ago Comcast had a live PPV HD event for the Arnold Bodybuilding Championships... I am certain there's a way to do it.

I doubt if Comcast has live PPV in HD... for past events you could try calling Comcast. It would mostly take a huge upgrade for OnDemand for it to support live PPV. For now Comcast would need to sacrifice a channel to support PPV HD.

Signed up for the 6mb service($19.95 for 6 mos), but most of the speed tests I've done so far is over that, probably that PowerBoost thing, and the upload is around 1800kbps, for SF anyways.

SF 30150/1728
LA 14009/1277
NY 4436/587
DC 5370/583
Sea 8544/1058

Got it through Circuit City, you pay $80 for the Moto Surfboard, that gets rebated back for an end cost of $0. Plus, they're giving you $150 cash, not sure if that's coming from Comcast or Circuit City, but you mail in 3 rebate forms, $20, $60 and $150.30/1.8 is the highest you will see, and it's only for the first 10-15MB of any large file. If you want a more accurate test try downloading a larger file like a HD trailer from Apple.com and watch the Networking meter in the task manager (ctrl-alt-del). It will spike up to i.e. 25% (assuming 100mbit lan) for a bit, then down to a steady 6%. Upload should be about 362kbps after P-B.

30/1.8 is the highest you will see, and it's only for the first 10-15MB of any large file. If you want a more accurate test try downloading a larger file like a HD trailer from Apple.com and watch the Networking meter in the task manager (ctrl-alt-del). It will spike up to i.e. 25% (assuming 100mbit lan) for a bit, then down to a steady 6%. Upload should be about 362kbps after P-B.

Yes, I figured as much base don what I've read here and at BBR. What pushed me over the edge was I got tired of ATT and games with bandwidth versus cost.

Short version, I used to get a solid 5mbps(paid for the up to 6 plan), went down to about 2.5mbps because of various issues at their end, they finally fixed it, but the max was solid 3mbps. Called to lower plan to the up to 3mbps package and they lowered the speed down to cap at 2.5mbps, even after discussing the issue, and them agreeing to me paying only for what I was getting.

Anyways, ATT can go fly a kite, plus I can dump my totally unused landline.

Huh?? I dont believe this... Can someone please confirm this. How is it possible Comcast could be so backwards? I remember a long time ago Comcast had a live PPV HD event for the Arnold Bodybuilding Championships... I am certain there's a way to do it.

mkanet, i have paid for 2 or 3 boxing matches in the last couple of years, and all of them have been SD only. I have never seen a PPV-HD channel for sporting events.

BTW, today DirecTV and PBS announced an agreement to carry PBS stations on DirecTV. This will likely pave the way for KQED to be carried in HD on DirecTV soon.

Still no KRON though! ;)

Yes, I figured as much base don what I've read here and at BBR. What pushed me over the edge was I got tired of ATT and games with bandwidth versus cost.

Short version, I used to get a solid 5mbps(paid for the up to 6 plan), went down to about 2.5mbps because of various issues at their end, they finally fixed it, but the max was solid 3mbps. Called to lower plan to the up to 3mbps package and they lowered the speed down to cap at 2.5mbps, even after discussing the issue, and them agreeing to me paying only for what I was getting.

Anyways, ATT can go fly a kite, plus I can dump my totally unused landline.

What? No U-verse at your house?? :p

What? No U-verse at your house?? :p

Yeah right, another half-baked AT&T operation,:p and I believe currently only available to about 1000-2000 homes, only marginally more than the 1100(out of 66,000) Santa Rosa customers who just got access to the new 1Ghz network last week or so from Comcast.

Signed up for the 6mb service($19.95 for 6 mos), but most of the speed tests I've done so far is over that, probably that PowerBoost thing, and the upload is around 1800kbps, for SF anyways.

SF 30150/1728
LA 14009/1277
NY 4436/587
DC 5370/583
Sea 8544/1058

Got it through Circuit City, you pay $80 for the Moto Surfboard, that gets rebated back for an end cost of $0. Plus, they're giving you $150 cash, not sure if that's coming from Comcast or Circuit City, but you mail in 3 rebate forms, $20, $60 and $150.

Thanks. I got the $20 or so deal for a year at the 8Mbps speed, but no equipment or cash back. It is probably about the same savings.

To my surprise, when I came back from work and turned on the tube, all the new channels were there! I was so happy that I almost teared up in front of my wife! She thinks I am overreacting about the new channels anyways...

So being only 4 days after they stated in the letter, I have to hand it to Comcast to finally deliver to our area after so many years! (Wolfe/Lawrence/El Camino/Reed)

On Demand only has premium channels showing, but I know from earlier posts that the other contents come about a month later.

There must really be a Santa...

-Steve

Samsung 71 series 2002 firmware QAM problem

Just got a Samsung 4071F with 2002 firmware. There is a problem with program scan for QAM: it will not find 2-1 and 5-1. I had the same identical problem on a Samsung 4065 with 1036 FW, which was fixed with 1037 update. Does anyone else having this TV with this firmware see the same problem?

You can record 2 SAT HD channels and 1 OTA HD channel all at the same time.

I agree with Larry, the Dish 622 is a heck of a DVR, I didn't think you could playback 2 HD recordings though, I'm pretty sure only 1 HD and 1 SD (hooked to another display) can be played at one time.

Menu speeds are lightning fast, and the guide data is wonderful, giving episode number and original air date all in the one screen. DirecTV's guide data is next to worthless in comparison. That's something I wish TiVo would do, put the airdate in the initial program info popup instead of having to tunnel down to find it.

Keenan's right... I wasn't clear on the playback. It has one HD output (with HDMI and component) and one SD output (video). You also get both outputs as analog RF channels, too, for feeding old analog sets.

Also, the OTA tuner in the 622 is really good. It locks into stations with weak signals that my old Sony shows as "No Signal", and compares very favorably with the tuner in my new Sony XBR4 LCD receiver.

The 622/722 from Dish gets a big 5 stars from me!

Larry
SF

I noticed an ad in a Local Los Gatos Weekly for Comcast Digital Phone service coming soon, something we have never had offered. I guess glacial forces are actually a shift


Mike

Samsung 71 series 2002 firmware QAM problem

Just got a Samsung 4071F with 2002 firmware. There is a problem with program scan for QAM: it will not find 2-1 and 5-1. I had the same identical problem on a Samsung 4065 with 1036 FW, which was fixed with 1037 update. Does anyone else having this TV with this firmware see the same problem?Ah...so the 1037 fw fixes that, huh? I've been waiting for some actual reason to muck with my Sammy's fw. :D

Ah...so the 1037 fw fixes that, huh? I've been waiting for some actual reason to muck with my Sammy's fw. :D

Do you have the same missing QAM channel problem?

I swear, if it wasnt for my R5000's and OnDemand movies, I would switch to DirecTV as quick I can make the phone call. I'm not sure why Comcast as to be so backwards when it comes to sports and having as many HD channels as all the other competitors. Geez.

mkanet, i have paid for 2 or 3 boxing matches in the last couple of years, and all of them have been SD only. I have never seen a PPV-HD channel for sporting events.

Does anyone know in Sunnyvale (550MHz) what frequencies are 2-1/702 (FOX-HD) and 5-1/705 (CBS-HD) at? My new TV can't pick those up, and the CSR at Samsung insists that I have weak signals. Every other TV in the house picks that up just fine. Another Samsung TV also has no trouble using the same exact coax feed with those.

I assume that here we use STD for Comcast digital as opposed to HRC or IRC. Is that correct?

Does anyone know in Sunnyvale (550MHz) what frequencies are 2-1/702 (FOX-HD) and 5-1/705 (CBS-HD) at? My new TV can't pick those up, and the CSR at Samsung insists that I have weak signals. Every other TV in the house picks that up just fine. Another Samsung TV also has no trouble using the same exact coax feed with those.

I assume that here we use STD for Comcast digital as opposed to HRC or IRC. Is that correct?

I'm in 94087; this is what I see:

2.1 = 525000 KHz
5.1 = 525000 KHz

-Karla

I'm in 94087; this is what I see:

2.1 = 525000 KHz
5.1 = 525000 KHz

-Karla

Thanks. I need to check my cable amp and splitters to make sure that they are rated at 1GHz then.

I live in San Francisco and have Comcast internet service but do not pay for cable TV. Does anyone know if I could get clear QAM channels with this setup? I should have the hardware to try it out in a few days but was wondering if anyone else has gone down this path. Thanks.

BTW, today DirecTV and PBS announced an agreement to carry PBS stations on DirecTV. This will likely pave the way for KQED to be carried in HD on DirecTV soon.

Still no KRON though! ;)

No KRON, but D* did add KBCW-HD sometime in the last few days.

Thanks. I need to check my cable amp and splitters to make sure that they are rated at 1GHz then.I have 2.1 and 5.1 in my Samsung LN-T5265's cable line-up now, but IIRC I had to manually add them by forcing the set to add channel 79 (which is the rf channel they're both on here) and then it eventually parsed them correctly.

Until your post about Samsung firmware updates, I had assumed that the reason they were picked up in my original scan back in July but not more recent ones had to do with Comcast PSIP changes. Then I thought that you were saying that fw 1037 fixes the problem so that my updating my set's fw from 102x to its current 1035 was the likely cause of the changed behavior. Now, it seems that you're saying that you still can't scan them--so the problem is not resolved with fw 1037, right? Did I misunderstand your posts?

I live in San Francisco and have Comcast internet service but do not pay for cable TV. Does anyone know if I could get clear QAM channels with this setup? I should have the hardware to try it out in a few days but was wondering if anyone else has gone down this path. Thanks.Not legally. If you pay for "basic cable" (~$15/mo) you're legally entitled to all of the local HD channels as well as the analog ones.

I have 2.1 and 5.1 in my Samsung LN-T5265's cable line-up now, but IIRC I had to manually add them by forcing the set to add channel 79 (which is the rf channel they're both on here) and then it eventually parsed them correctly.

Until your post about Samsung firmware updates, I had assumed that the reason they were picked up in my original scan back in July but not more recent ones had to do with Comcast PSIP changes. Then I thought that you were saying that fw 1037 fixes the problem so that my updating my set's fw from 102x to its current 1035 was the likely cause of the changed behavior. Now, it seems that you're saying that you still can't scan them--so the problem is not resolved with fw 1037, right? Did I misunderstand your posts?

So here's a summary. I have 2 Samsung 4065's. The first one has been problem-free from day 1. The second one I got last month came with firmware 1036. It would not pick up 2-1 and 5-1 on the internal QAM. I updated to 1037, and it correctly picks up those stations now.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12379666&highlight=firmware+1037#post12379666

A couple of days ago, I got a new Samsung 4071F. It will not pick up 2-1 and 5-1. I tried scanning for STD as well as HRC and IRC. Signal strengths are OK on the channels that it receives. The same coax feed will work correctly on the older 4065's. I have also moved the 4071 to different coax feeds that should have slightly higher signal levels, but there is no difference in the results. Since 2-1 and 5-1 are at the edge of the band in our system, I am not sure if there is some minor signal loss that leads to the set having difficulty. But since the symptoms were the same on one of the 4065's and new firmware fixed it, I tend to think that it is a firmware issue. BTW, 1037 was sent out to an owner in southern Calif. to fix a specific QAM missing channel problem.

So if you have 1035 now, you may want to give 1037 a try.

How do you force the TV to look at a specific frequency/channel?

So if you have 1035 now, you may want to give 1037 a try.

How do you force the TV to look at a specific frequency/channel?
On my Sharp TV I can enter the PSIP 2.1/5.1 or I can enter the actual 79.1/79.2 (for my area) and the channels will show up. If your area is using 79.1/79.2 then I don't think it is a splitter or amp problem because those are right in the middle of the frequency spectrum.

Basically if the PSIP is not readable, I can always go to the actual channel. It is less convenient to tune this way, but something is better than nothing.

So how bad is the stutter and TBE with AMP on high I've been reading about? Sometimes things get blown up by a few vocal people so it is hard to tell how serious it is.

On my Sharp TV I can enter the PSIP 2.1/5.1 or I can enter the actual 79.1/79.2 (for my area) and the channels will show up. If your area is using 79.1/79.2 then I don't think it is a splitter or amp problem because those are right in the middle of the frequency spectrum.

Basically if the PSIP is not readable, I can always go to the actual channel. It is less convenient to tune this way, but something is better than nothing.

So how bad is the stutter and TBE with AMP on high I've been reading about? Sometimes things get blown up by a few vocal people so it is hard to tell how serious it is.

Not sure if I can just tune to a channel that is not on the channel list. Does anyone know what is the actual channel number for FOX HD and CBS HD in 94087, un-upgraded?

Here is what I responded on a 4071 question:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12557429#post12557429

Does anyone know what is the actual channel number for FOX HD and CBS HD in 94087, un-upgraded?

I'm in 94087; I can tune in to the following:

FOX-HD = 2.1/74.9
CSB-HD = 5.1/74.7

-Karla

I'm in 94087; I can tune in to the following:

FOX-HD = 2.1/74.9
CSB-HD = 5.1/74.7

-Karla

Thanks, I'll give that a try tonight.

Usually if you just tune to 74, the tuner will scan all the subchannels.

Usually if you just tune to 74, the tuner will scan all the subchannels.

Not on the Samsung 71 series. You have to do an auto scan first, and if it can't find the channel, there is no way to manually add it.

This missing QAM channel bug is annoying. If anyone is interested in buying the '71 series, be aware that the OTA tuner is also very insensitive, much worse than that on the Samsung '61/65 series.

Not on the Samsung 71 series. You have to do an auto scan first, and if it can't find the channel, there is no way to manually add it.


I found a solution based on TPetersons' and sfhub's suggestions. I punched in 74, and it showed up 74-0 with a blank screen. Then I went back to the channel list. Miraculously, 2-1 and 5-1 have been added to the list! Thanks TPeterson, sfhub and karlalau.

Now I am afraid to do another channel scan, since it may erase those two channels :). We'll wait for the upgrade first.

I have noticed that Mikef5 has not posted here since Nov 20. He is, of course, our pipeline to Mr. J of Comcast. He was gone a bit before that and when he returned he alluded to a health problem that had cleared. I sincerely hope that is still the case.

Now, a few months back Mr. J mentioned that we would have added HD channels in November, and we have them added. He also said that we would be seeing another new channel in December and then another, yet, in January.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=11746034&postcount=3021

It's almost January and we don't have any more channels since the 4 were added last month. I wonder where we stand today????????

The Santa Cruz area just added ABC-HD on 707 and FSN-HD on 720. I did not receive any official notification. Who knows what might just show up.

BTW FSN-HD has no picture. Just the "Off Air" message in the guide. Does this channel only get turned on if there is programming?

I found a solution based on TPetersons' and sfhub's suggestions. I punched in 74, and it showed up 74-0 with a blank screen. Then I went back to the channel list. Miraculously, 2-1 and 5-1 have been added to the list! Thanks TPeterson, sfhub and karlalau.Yes, I think that was the sequence on my 5265 as well. Sorry to hear that the 71 series' OTA tuner seems weak. The one in the 65 series seems very good. I hope that this is not a trend for Samsung!

I have noticed that Mikef5 has not posted here since Nov 20. He is, of course, our pipeline to Mr. J of Comcast. He was gone a bit before that and when he returned he alluded to a health problem that had cleared. I sincerely hope that is still the case.

Now, a few months back Mr. J mentioned that we would have added HD channels in November, and we have them added. He also said that we would be seeing another new channel in December and then another, yet, in January.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=11746034&postcount=3021

It's almost January and we don't have any more channels since the 4 were added last month. I wonder where we stand today????????

come back mike!!

The Santa Cruz area just added ABC-HD on 707 and FSN-HD on 720. I did not receive any official notification. Who knows what might just show up.

BTW FSN-HD has no picture. Just the "Off Air" message in the guide. Does this channel only get turned on if there is programming?
Getting ABC-HD has been a long time coming down there hasn't it. :)

That's what FSN-HD looks like normally, it only lights up when there is a game being broadcast, and unless you're lucky, the guide info for that station is completely worthless, best to check the FSNBA site for broadcast times.

http://fsnbayarea.com/FSNHD.jsp
FSN HD

There's a link for each team at the bottom of the page. As to why there is such crappy guide, as far as I know, it's still in the finger pointing stage between Comcast and FSNBA, maybe now that Comcast bought controlling interest they'll do something about it.

I was curious about where Mikef5 has been as well, hope he is okay. I remember when SonomaSearcher disappeared from these pages, never did find out what happened to him and he was fairly active in quite a few parts of this forum.

Yes, I think that was the sequence on my 5265 as well. Sorry to hear that the 71 series' OTA tuner seems weak. The one in the 65 series seems very good. I hope that this is not a trend for Samsung!

I have a theory, but it has not been thoroughly tested yet. I use an indoor antenna, the Zenith Silver, with the 65 and later the 71. With the 65, there is no issue. Placement is of course, important, but I can pick up everything pretty easily. With the 71, placement is extremely important, and I still couldn't pick up FOX-HD(2-1) or KRON-HD (4-1). Moreover, the vertical location of the antenna is very important: moving it up or down a few inches leads to major changes in received signal strength. If I use a longer cable and move the antenna farther away from the TV, the vertical positioning becomes less critical.

My theory is that the 120Hz processing (including the new Frame-Rate Converter PCB) is creating RF interference. It is either self-jamming the ATSC tuner, or it is emitting interferences that get picked up by the antenna. I will try to connect the TV to a roof antenna and see if I can get the same signal levels as before (which will eliminate self jamming in the tuner).

Now that I posted the QAM tuner problem in the 71 series thread, several owners are seeing the same problem. It is definitely a software issue, since the channel that I manually added has signal strengths in the 9's and 8's.

Yeah, I hope Mike is ok too.

I remember about SonomaSearcher too and there was another guy that even posted a link to an article in a newspaper website that talked about people in Saratoga or Los Gatos getting DirecTV because of the number of channels. He was interviewed for that article and there was a picture of him there. That was like 2 or 3 years ago, anyone remembers that?

My theory is that the 120Hz processing (including the new Frame-Rate Converter PCB) is creating RF interference. It is either self-jamming the ATSC tuner, or it is emitting interferences that get picked up by the antenna. I will try to connect the TV to a roof antenna and see if I can get the same signal levels as before (which will eliminate self jamming in the tuner).
When you have the 65 and 71 both turned on and side-by-side, does it affect the OTA reception of the 65?

When you have the 65 and 71 both turned on and side-by-side, does it affect the OTA reception of the 65?

Haven't tried that experiment. I can also borrow a spectrum analyzer and sniff around.

Just installed my dad's sony xbr and did a channel scan - he is a just a basic subscriber with espn but no premium packages. Found all he local analog channel's fine. Also found a bunch of what i assume ar atsc channels. They have unexpected channel numbers like 98.1 vs 7.1 say for kvue's hd channel. is there a list of these anywhere? I found the list of three-digit channel numbers like 701 etc but those don't come in since he is not a digital subscriber.

he's in fairfield

Just installed my dad's sony xbr and did a channel scan - he is a just a basic subscriber with espn but no premium packages. Found all he local analog channel's fine. Also found a bunch of what i assume ar atsc channels. They have unexpected channel numbers like 98.1 vs 7.1 say for kvue's hd channel. is there a list of these anywhere? I found the list of three-digit channel numbers like 701 etc but those don't come in since he is not a digital subscriber.

Go here:

http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdhomerun/channels

Enter the zip code, and you'll see all the uscrambled QAM channels.

BTW, cable uses QAM technology, and ATSC is the over-the-air digital broadcast scheme used in the US.

Just noticed that my Comcast bill went up $8 this month..

I have constantly been a cable supporter, but the increasing price...crappy DVR and fluctuating signal quality is pushing me towards the edge...
Really looking at Direct TV, and going to look at Dish. HD locals, sports and some other programming(TLC, CMT, Bravo, Disney, Nick, Toon for son and wife) are my main needs.

I guess I am just venting..but has anyone done a recent comparison of Direct/Dish and Comcast(Santa Clara) lately?

I was going to move to Direct TV but my wife said no. :p

We have talked about this in the past, basically if you want more HD channels and better SD quality DirecTV is better. The service is cheaper too. At least the monthly fee.
The advantages of cable are that you can plug any TV in any socket without a box, that's an advantage for a lot of people. You don't need to hav direct view to the south. You can use a HD Tivo that works better than any DVR in the market. You can change your box for a new one with "better" technology every 6 or 12 months. If the box fails you just go and exchange it, no questions asked, if they ask questions you can say that your cat ate the hard drive and they won't say anything, etc., etc.

I have Comcast service out in Union City, CA. Channels 750 (Discovery HD) and 754 (Discovery Theater HD) are showing the same programming (Discovery HD). Is anyone else having this issue?

Looking into the diagnostics on my Tivo Series3, it looks like it was instructed to tune into QAM 256 at frequency 477000 kHz for both channels.

Even my SD set-top box is showing the same results on my channel guide.

I just purchased a PrimeDTV PHD-205 as a Xmas present for friends who live in the Bay Area and have Comcast cable. Plugged it into the cable, and scanned the channels. It found 300+ digital channels and about 70 analogue ones.

Of course the only channels in digital that came through were the FTA ones but the picture was pretty good. Connected it to a Panasonic 720P RP LCD TV and the picture quality is very good. It was quite illuminating to see the PQ difference between analogue cable (my friends were using a cable ready TV) and the HD version of the channel on their set. Plug and play for us anyway.

Can get KTVU, KRON, KPIX, KGO, KQED, KNTV and KICU (I think) in HD which is pretty good.

I must be the only person missing the AZN TV channel from the analog to digital switch. I thought I was just having a "cable problem" Then I noticed the TV Guide channel was gone as well when I tried to look for it. I eventually found out about the switch by googling for the info. Comcast's channel lineup on the net does not show the update (still on channel 69)

I tried to look for the channel in my HTPC's clear-QAM (I have not been able to figure out all the channel mapping) but it does not seem to be available.

I am still interested in getting that channel (actually just for about an hour a day for a news program) if it does not cost too much from the standard cable.
Anyone happen to know what service or package I need to get that channel?

BTW, I am already paying just over $100/month for standard cable & HSI service in Sunnyvale (94086). I should be able to get a better deal, right?

TIA

You just need standard cable to watch AZN TV, but you need to have a comcast box to view it. They have moved it to channel 215 I believe.

I must be the only person missing the AZN TV channel from the analog to digital switch. I thought I was just having a "cable problem" Then I noticed the TV Guide channel was gone as well when I tried to look for it. I eventually found out about the switch by googling for the info. Comcast's channel lineup on the net does not show the update (still on channel 69)

I tried to look for the channel in my HTPC's clear-QAM (I have not been able to figure out all the channel mapping) but it does not seem to be available.

I am still interested in getting that channel (actually just for about an hour a day for a news program) if it does not cost too much from the standard cable.
Anyone happen to know what service or package I need to get that channel?

BTW, I am already paying just over $100/month for standard cable & HSI service in Sunnyvale (94086). I should be able to get a better deal, right?

TIATry to tune your cable box to chan 240. If available in your area that's where it should be according to the SF Chronicle article here (http://66.35.240.8/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/09/BUP8SM773.DTL). If box can tune to 240 and you get "Not Authorized" then you will probably need Digital Classic tier at $14.95/mo. Chan 240 AZN apparently is not available in every city because I tried to tune to 240 and the channel is not found here in Novato.

I must be the only person missing the AZN TV channel from the analog to digital switch. I thought I was just having a "cable problem" Then I noticed the TV Guide channel was gone as well when I tried to look for it. I eventually found out about the switch by googling for the info. Comcast's channel lineup on the net does not show the update (still on channel 69)

Yeah, it is on 240. I will verify if it is clear QAM or encrypted when I get home. I remember ADS 69 was in the clear in my area.

You just need standard cable to watch AZN TV, but you need to have a comcast box to view it. They have moved it to channel 215 I believe.
So I don't need to get one of the digital services from Comcast, but I still need to get a set-top box to tune to channel 215 or 240?

My TV does not have a ATSC/QAM tuner. It is an old analog TV, hence I just have the standard (limited + expanded) cable service. The QAM tuner is on my PC. I get about 60 clear-QAM channels, but I have no idea how these channels map to what most people talk about the digital channels.

I also found out that some people are using TivoHD (or S3) with a cablecard to get the clear-QAM channels mapped correctly on Tivo without the digital service. Is this possible in the Bay Area? I have 3 analog Tivos, so I would consider upgrading one to a TivoHD to make this work.

So I don't need to get one of the digital services from Comcast, but I still need to get a set-top box to tune to channel 215 or 240?
[...]
I also found out that some people are using TivoHD (or S3) with a cablecard to get the clear-QAM channels mapped correctly on Tivo without the digital service. Is this possible in the Bay Area? I have 3 analog Tivos, so I would consider upgrading one to a TivoHD to make this work.

Yes, you don't need digital service. If 240 is encrypted, then you need Digital Classic (You can have Digital Classic just over Limited Basic, which also gives you all the HD channels).

Yes, TivoHD with cable card gives you all the channels that a cable box gives you. Also the channel numbers would be same as on cable box. But if you are not interested in HD, you can get a cable box for free (or $1) from Comcast.
Edit: with TivoHD, you get encrypted channels also, as long as they are subscribed to them.

I am a subscriber to Comcast basic cable in Cupertino/Los Altos. Up to now I've been feeding the RF directly into my Pioneer Elite TV since I had not subscribed to HDTV. But my understanding is that the HD network feeds are available as part of my service. Since I'm on a budget and would prefer not to spend $7/$8 per month for STB rental from Comcast, what is the best inexpensive STB for this task? Will the Samsung SIR-T451 do the trick? Or is there a better choice?

Thanks

Yes, you don't need digital service. If 240 is encrypted, then you need Digital Classic (You can have Digital Classic just over Limited Basic, which also gives you all the HD channels).

Yes, TivoHD with cable card gives you all the channels that a cable box gives you. Also the channel numbers would be same as on cable box. But if you are not interested in HD, you can get a cable box for free (or $1) from Comcast.
Edit: with TivoHD, you get encrypted channels also, as long as they are subscribed to them.

I stopped by at a local Comcast store this afternoon to find out what my options are. Looks like I do have to sign up for the Digital Classic service to get AZN (channel 240) along with a bunch of other digital channels. So I can do what you suggested with the Limited Basic & Digital Classic for the minimalist option.

The TivoHD & CableCARD option is probably what I will end up with eventually (new HDTV as well), but I think I would go the minimalist route first.

One other info I got at the store was that I can provision the set-top box myself, but I have to have Comcast home visit for the CableCARD install.

Hi, I'm a complete newbie to HDTVs and I have a question. I bought one of those really cheap Emprex HDTVs yesterday at Frys for my parents. They currently have analogue cable with Comcast in SF. Anyway, I plugged the analogue directly into the TV and scanned the channels. Is there any way I can find a channel guide or something? I kind of went through all the channels, and some seemed different from when the cable was plugged into my standard TV, plus a lot of them start to repeat in the 90s channel ranges, and there's a lot of unlabeled audio channels in the 120s.

Hi, I'm a complete newbie to HDTVs and I have a question. I bought one of those really cheap Emprex HDTVs yesterday at Frys for my parents. They currently have analogue cable with Comcast in SF. Anyway, I plugged the analogue directly into the TV and scanned the channels. Is there any way I can find a channel guide or something? I kind of went through all the channels, and some seemed different from when the cable was plugged into my standard TV, plus a lot of them start to repeat in the 90s channel ranges, and there's a lot of unlabeled audio channels in the 120s.

Enter your zip code, and this site tells you what are the unscrambled cable channels available:

http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdhomerun/channels

Thanks for that link, but it doesn't seem to totally correspond with my zip code. For example, many HD versions of the channels have a -1 designation after the main channel, for example 2-1 for KTVU in HD and 4-1 for KRON in HD and 5-1 for KPIX in HD. That website doesn't seem list any of those channels. Unless there's a way in the TV to set a different way to display those channels?

Any channel that has subchannels, like KGO for example will carry all of those channels on the same frequency. KGO-1, -2 and -3 are all on channel 115 along with KQED-1 and -2. this is using 94928 for the zip code. SF might be a bit different, channel wise, but the idea is the same.

Thanks for that link, but it doesn't seem to totally correspond with my zip code. For example, many HD versions of the channels have a -1 designation after the main channel, for example 2-1 for KTVU in HD and 4-1 for KRON in HD and 5-1 for KPIX in HD. That website doesn't seem list any of those channels. Unless there's a way in the TV to set a different way to display those channels?

That list gives you the physical channel info. You are saying you want the virtual channel number. If you look at the channel call-sign, you may be able to get the relation between the two. Your TV most likely will show the virtual channel number (like 2-1) if that information is broadcast. Otherwise it will display the physical channel number like 95-7.

I was going to move to Direct TV but my wife said no. :p

We have talked about this in the past, basically if you want more HD channels and better SD quality DirecTV is better. The service is cheaper too. At least the monthly fee.
The advantages of cable are that you can plug any TV in any socket without a box, that's an advantage for a lot of people. You don't need to hav direct view to the south. You can use a HD Tivo that works better than any DVR in the market. You can change your box for a new one with "better" technology every 6 or 12 months. If the box fails you just go and exchange it, no questions asked, if they ask questions you can say that your cat ate the hard drive and they won't say anything, etc., etc.

Well, i think the "plug a cable into any tv without a box" is gone now, here in far away east bay anyway. I now only get two golf channels for my series 2 TiVo's and all other analog channels are gone. So i have to make the decision.. upgrade to the comcast box or jump over to DirecTV. aughh. it's the poor customer service and continually rising bill that makes me hate cable so much, other wise it is the easier solution, and i already have HSI with them which i keep either way.

Just noticed that my Comcast bill went up $8 this month..

I have constantly been a cable supporter, but the increasing price...crappy DVR and fluctuating signal quality is pushing me towards the edge...
Really looking at Direct TV, and going to look at Dish. HD locals, sports and some other programming(TLC, CMT, Bravo, Disney, Nick, Toon for son and wife) are my main needs.

I guess I am just venting..but has anyone done a recent comparison of Direct/Dish and Comcast(Santa Clara) lately?

Please vent. I'm looking for more people to help yell at Verizon for not giving us FIOS for both TV and internet, let alone ANY plans. I mean, for Christ sakes, no company in this nation has ANY plans for FTTP in Silicon Valley, one of the most obvious markets for FTTP in terms of subs, and thus, revenue!

P.S. A few weeks ago I bugged that Vindu guy from the Merc about FIOS. He called Verizon and Verizon said it still only goes to places where it is the local telco, no plans other than that. He also said that Verizon is the local telco in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and parts of Los Gatos but has decided to not bring FIOS there yet (makes sense, those cities don't have enough potential subs yet, I might consider moving to Morgan Hill if they got FIOS).

But basically if you live in the heart of SV, no FIBER TO THE PREMISES (not tbe confused with U-Verse's crap) in our lifetime. Hell 50 years may pass and we still won't see FTTP here.

Unless we put pressure on local media and Verizon. Who's with me??? We have strength in numbers.

Well, i think the "plug a cable into any tv without a box" is gone now, here in far away east bay anyway. I now only get two golf channels for my series 2 TiVo's and all other analog channels are gone. So i have to make the decision.. upgrade to the comcast box or jump over to DirecTV. aughh. it's the poor customer service and continually rising bill that makes me hate cable so much, other wise it is the easier solution, and i already have HSI with them which i keep either way.

Wait a minute, they are taking away analog channels? What about the unscrambled QAM channels, including the network HD feeds?

Well, i think the "plug a cable into any tv without a box" is gone now, here in far away east bay anyway. I now only get two golf channels for my series 2 TiVo's and all other analog channels are gone. So i have to make the decision.. upgrade to the comcast box or jump over to DirecTV. aughh. it's the poor customer service and continually rising bill that makes me hate cable so much, other wise it is the easier solution, and i already have HSI with them which i keep either way.

Something must be screwed up with your setup. You should absolutely still get all of the analog channels (2~74) on your Series 2 Tivo. Are you saying if you plug your cable into the back of your Tivo, only 2 channels come in?

Looks like Paxio is only the only way you can get FTTH in the Bay Area, but they only are offering it with newer developments. Hopefully all new developments in the future will have Paxio.

Also a note about QAM at least here in San Jose everything is QAM 256 basically so my older TV that has a QAM tuner doesn't pick up most of the digital channels including the locals. Only my newer sets and my HDHR can pick up any unencrypted QAM channels off comcast.

Looks like Paxio is only the only way you can get FTTH in the Bay Area, but they only are offering it with newer developments. Hopefully all new developments in the future will have Paxio.

Also a note about QAM at least here in San Jose everything is QAM 256 basically so my older TV that has a QAM tuner doesn't pick up most of the digital channels including the locals. Only my newer sets and my HDHR can pick up any unencrypted QAM channels off comcast.

What is Paxio and where I can learn more about it? I've never heard of Paxio. Has anyone heard anything about Paxio to current housing/apt communities? Anything about Paxio to tri-city area (Fremont/Newark/Union City)? Thanks.

Please vent. I'm looking for more people to help yell at Verizon for not giving us FIOS for both TV and internet, let alone ANY plans. I mean, for Christ sakes, no company in this nation has ANY plans for FTTP in Silicon Valley, one of the most obvious markets for FTTP in terms of subs, and thus, revenue!

P.S. A few weeks ago I bugged that Vindu guy from the Merc about FIOS. He called Verizon and Verizon said it still only goes to places where it is the local telco, no plans other than that. He also said that Verizon is the local telco in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and parts of Los Gatos but has decided to not bring FIOS there yet (makes sense, those cities don't have enough potential subs yet, I might consider moving to Morgan Hill if they got FIOS).

But basically if you live in the heart of SV, no FIBER TO THE PREMISES (not tbe confused with U-Verse's crap) in our lifetime. Hell 50 years may pass and we still won't see FTTP here.

Unless we put pressure on local media and Verizon. Who's with me??? We have strength in numbers.

Phone companies are like cable companies. They don't overbuild each other's areas. Just like you won't see time-warner overbuilding comcast here, you will not see verizon overbuilding AT&T. Aside from part of Gilroy, I don't think there is any VZ phone service in this area, which means you won't see FIOS.

AT&T has specifically committed to investors that their u-verse DSL system will be able to compete effectively with cable so they will not have to shell out tons of $$$ for Fiber deployments. Of course, u-verse is a POS, as is most of their "advanced DSL" plant. Without them doing some aggressive, comcast doesn't feel any pressure because there is effectively little competition. You should see how aggressive comcast is in FIOS areas though.

If you want AT&T to stop playing games and pull fiber, then the best thing you can do is actually organize a campaign to bleed out all their profits and then they will be forced to pull fiber or die. That means get rid of all your AT&T LD, DSL, and especially phone service in the bay area, and get all your neighbors to do it it too. Actually, if you want to screw them the worst, turn off everything but lifeline phone service, which means they still have to maintain the copper plant and switch ports etc... (most of the cost), but remove all ability to get a profitable service from the line. This way they actually lose money for every sub and not just lose revenue.

If you REALLY want to see fiber here, believe me, that's the only way to do it. Paxio may do things in specific new neighborhoods where the cost of a fiber pull is very low, but forget about them for retrofits, espe if you are talking underground pulls. That's in the $2500-$3000 PER home passed. If only 10% of the customers take a fiber service, that's $30000/sub to pull fiber. How much is that sub going to pay you for a triple play service? Even if it was all profit (which is far from true), $100/month or even $300/month will take 100-300 months to hit payback, not including cost of capital or cost of providing service. VZ thinks they can make it work because they already have 70-80% penetration of voice in their region already. So don't expect Paxio to go after a lot of territory with those economics.

Something must be screwed up with your setup. You should absolutely still get all of the analog channels (2~74) on your Series 2 Tivo. Are you saying if you plug your cable into the back of your Tivo, only 2 channels come in?

well, way out here, things went dark the other day and i only get the two golf channels on my TiVo's. A friend in Dublin area also was not able to get analog on his Tivo's either directly from the wall.

Something must be screwed up with your setup. You should absolutely still get all of the analog channels (2~74) on your Series 2 Tivo. Are you saying if you plug your cable into the back of your Tivo, only 2 channels come in?

i assumed they are just starting to turn off analog? is that happening in phases or something, maybe it's just me ? and to upgrade to comcast's HD DVR and HD box is $13 & $14 respectively is outrageous in my opinion. that's the best price i could get from comcast both times i called in to see about upgrades. ugh. The 1st HD box = $7, and HD with DVR =$13, second HD box = $14, or second HD w/DVR $21 and each additional box per month. Is that really what everyone is paying to get HD from comcast?

well, way out here, things went dark the other day and i only get the two golf channels on my TiVo's. A friend in Dublin area also was not able to get analog on his Tivo's either directly from the wall.

Comcast has said that even when the network's switch over to digital in '09, they would continue to offer the "major" channels in analog form. But unless I missed something major, no one should be switched over yet. What happens if you plug directly into your TV (i.e. eliminate the Tivo)? Do you still only get the 2 channels?

On the Comcast website, it says there is a $20 mandatory install fee for HD DVR's. Has anyone been able to go to the local office and just pick up an extra HD DVR(I already have 1) and just have it added to the bill at $21, or do they still make you set up an appointment?

I sure hope I can just grab one...waiting 4 hours for a cable dude to plug in a box plus $20 just because does not sound good right now..

What is the current HD DVR that they are providing in Santa Clara? I currently have a 6412 and it has terrible remote control issues.

On the Comcast website, it says there is a $20 mandatory install fee for HD DVR's. Has anyone been able to go to the local office and just pick up an extra HD DVR(I already have 1) and just have it added to the bill at $21, or do they still make you set up an appointment?

I've done this about 5 times...gone to the local office to either swap or add a DVR. In/out in 5 minutes. No $21 charge or activation fee.

I've done this about 5 times...gone to the local office to either swap or add a DVR. In/out in 5 minutes. No $21 charge or activation fee.

Cool, thanks for the suggestion of a positive outcome..
I have swapped devices a couple times, but have never tried adding 1....I guess they feel that people who order online are not going to hit the store to pick it up..so they are warning them of the cost of the service call.

I will head out and hope for good luck.

^^^^^^^

Same here. Just be sure to watch your bill. They have a tendancy to (over) charge incorrectly.

any one having pixelation issues with ESPN2 HD? noticed this since this afternoon.

any one having pixelation issues with ESPN2 HD? noticed this since this afternoon.
Now it seems fine.

In case anyone missed it, the Pats/Giants game will be on KPIX and KNTV as well as the NFL Net as the Patriots go for a perfect season.

Im guessing it goes without saying tonights big UFC fights are in low res. tonight

I have Comcast Triple Play in Bayarea. I currently watch HD by directly connecting the Cable to TV ( QAM ). However, I miss Discovery, National Geographic and ESPN in HD. What is the least expensive way to get those 3 in HD? I am reluctant to ask this Question to Comcast reps, as they often don't have the exact info and tend to promote bloated packages.

This topic is old (NFL-HD offered via the digital sports tier...), but I just sent and email to comcast objecting to this re-packaging. The price is cheap ($2.99 promotional or $4.99 regular), but come on. They're cherry-picking games (thanksgiving day late game, pats vs. ?) and charging extra. I feel my bill is high enough (1 HD-DVR, 1 HD tuner, digital tier and HSI), and I'm drawing a line. If others do also, maybe they'll rethink it (probably not, but I'm making a stand.

Best,
jeff

This topic is old (NFL-HD offered via the digital sports tier...), but I just sent and email to comcast objecting to this re-packaging. The price is cheap ($2.99 promotional or $4.99 regular), but come on. They're cherry-picking games (thanksgiving day late game, pats vs. ?) and charging extra. I feel my bill is high enough (1 HD-DVR, 1 HD tuner, digital tier and HSI), and I'm drawing a line. If others do also, maybe they'll rethink it (probably not, but I'm making a stand.

Best,
jeff

Think of it this way, NFL channel is charging Comcast a ton of money to show it's programming which includes just 8 regular season games. Many people could care less about football (I'm not one of them) and are incensed about why they have to supplement football lovers. So, Comcast has decided, and the courts agreed, to put the channel in its already existing Sports Tier.

Yeah, it costs more to watch those 8 games but you get other channels with it as well. I already subscribed to the Sports Tier because I found value in it beyond just professional football, so when the decision was made to move the NFL channel into the tier it didn't affect me one bit.

I have Comcast Triple Play in Bayarea. I currently watch HD by directly connecting the Cable to TV ( QAM ). However, I miss Discovery, National Geographic and ESPN in HD. What is the least expensive way to get those 3 in HD? I am reluctant to ask this Question to Comcast reps, as they often don't have the exact info and tend to promote bloated packages.

I think you should be able to get those at no additional charge. They should already be a part of your current package and you should also get one STB (outlet) at no additional charge. The only reason why you're not getting it now is because those are encrypted (hence the need for an STB).

Regarding the Samsung QAM issue, I just bought a Samsung LN-T3253H that came with 1022 firmware. In Milpitas, I cannot get Fox and CBS in HD over QAM in my bedroom.

I tried going to channel 79 as suggested in this thread to scan the subchannels (at least I think it would've been 79 according to http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdhomerun/channels zip code 95035). I also tried manually entering 2-1, 5-1, 79-1, 79-2 on my remote to no avail.

Any other suggestions here? My other QAM channels have 7-8 bars under signal strength, dunno if that has any affect on recieving FOX and CBS though

Q: Originally Posted by pondria
I have Comcast Triple Play in Bayarea. I currently watch HD by directly connecting the Cable to TV ( QAM ). However, I miss Discovery, National Geographic and ESPN in HD. What is the least expensive way to get those 3 in HD? I am reluctant to ask this Question to Comcast reps, as they often don't have the exact info and tend to promote bloated packages.

A: By Fender4645
I think you should be able to get those at no additional charge. They should already be a part of your current package and you should also get one STB (outlet) at no additional charge. The only reason why you're not getting it now is because those are encrypted (hence the need for an STB).

They left me a very small and simple STB which has only a composite video out. I didn't even bother to connect.

If you want those channels in HD you need to subscribe to "Digital Classic" and "HDTV", they will give you a DCT-6200 stb which has HD component and DVI output (easily converted to HDMI with the right cable)

Think of it this way, NFL channel is charging Comcast a ton of money to show it's programming which includes just 8 regular season games. Many people could care less about football (I'm not one of them) and are incensed about why they have to supplement football lovers. So, Comcast has decided, and the courts agreed, to put the channel in its already existing Sports Tier.

Yeah, it costs more to watch those 8 games but you get other channels with it as well. I already subscribed to the Sports Tier because I found value in it beyond just professional football, so when the decision was made to move the NFL channel into the tier it didn't affect me one bit.

Three words

NFL Sunday Ticket

don't you think Comcast/etc cablecos are just a BIT pissed that NFL gave exclusive access to DirecTV?

They left me a very small and simple STB which has only a composite video out. I didn't even bother to connect.

You should be able to swap that for an HD-capable STB. I know there used to be an HD charge of $5/month but I don't see that on my bill....not sure if they're still doing that.

Regarding the Samsung QAM issue, I just bought a Samsung LN-T3253H that came with 1022 firmware. In Milpitas, I cannot get Fox and CBS in HD over QAM in my bedroom.

I tried going to channel 79 as suggested in this thread to scan the subchannels (at least I think it would've been 79 according to http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdhomerun/channels zip code 95035). I also tried manually entering 2-1, 5-1, 79-1, 79-2 on my remote to no avail.

Any other suggestions here? My other QAM channels have 7-8 bars under signal strength, dunno if that has any affect on recieving FOX and CBS though

Have you tried the latest firmware 1023?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12598084&highlight=firmware#post12598084

Have you tried the latest firmware 1023?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12598084&highlight=firmware#post12598084

will the 42h firmware work with the 53h? the info file of that download says T-JASMAUS0- 1023, my firmware is t-brdpaus0-1022

will the 42h firmware work with the 53h? the info file of that download says T-JASMAUS0- 1023, my firmware is t-brdpaus0-1022

You're right, I missed that. I don't know if it's the same software, so best to call Samsung first.

I had a 4065 with the same QAM problem, and an update to 1037 firmware fixes that. I have a 4071 with the same problem, and I was able to fix it by punching in 74.

79 is at about 550 MHz. Is it possible that you may have signal strength problems at that frequency? Some of the older splitters and amplifiers roll off at 500 MHz.

If you want those channels in HD you need to subscribe to "Digital Classic" and "HDTV", they will give you a DCT-6200 stb which has HD component and DVI output (easily converted to HDMI with the right cable)



Three words

NFL Sunday Ticket

don't you think Comcast/etc cablecos are just a BIT pissed that NFL gave exclusive access to DirecTV?
They could have had it if they wanted it, but by their own words, it was too expensive. Plus, when it was up for bid, most cablecos didn't have room for it anyways, still don't, at least here in the bay area.

You should be able to swap that for an HD-capable STB. I know there used to be an HD charge of $5/month but I don't see that on my bill....not sure if they're still doing that.

The HD STB costs $7 or $8 per month. Do you have a HD box without being charged?

They could have had it if they wanted it, but by their own words, it was too expensive. Plus, when it was up for bid, most cablecos didn't have room for it anyways, still don't, at least here in the bay area.

Keenan is right. The exclusive came off this year, but the Cable guys didn't want to pay the same price that DirecTV did.

You should be able to swap that for an HD-capable STB. I know there used to be an HD charge of $5/month but I don't see that on my bill....not sure if they're still doing that.

It's $7 now, and I think it's going up.

The HD STB costs $7 or $8 per month. Do you have a HD box without being charged?

I have 2 HD boxes (both are DVRs) and and 2 CableCARDs. There is no "HDTV service charge" on my bill. I remember seeing this a while back before I moved....maybe I'm just lucky.

I have 2 HD boxes (both are DVRs) and and 2 CableCARDs. There is no "HDTV service charge" on my bill. I remember seeing this a while back before I moved....maybe I'm just lucky.

There shouldn't be any HDTV service charge. That is supposed to be the equipment rental fee of HD STB (not DVR) only.

I have 2 HD boxes (both are DVRs) and and 2 CableCARDs. There is no "HDTV service charge" on my bill. I remember seeing this a while back before I moved....maybe I'm just lucky.
The DVR fee bundles in the HDTV equipment fee.

It happened to us once. We exchanged a broken DVR box for a 3412 I think. The new one gave us the HBO, Showtime, Max channels and the sports tier for an entire year for free before they shut it back off. :) It was nice while it lasted.

I'm having a kind of weird issue with my TV programming.
I have 3 boxes at home. One is an SD only box, the other is a old Moto DVR, the ones with DVI. The last one is a DCH3416, the ones with smart cards.
Well, in this last box OnDemand is not working, it was working fine a few weeks ago and then it stopped working. I didn't change anything in my setup. OnDemand is working fine in the other 2 boxes.
Last week i was browsing channels, just wasting time and forgot that HBO-HD was the next channel, I usually skip the channels I don't subscribe, but then "magic" happened. It showed the channel!. I thought it was a free week of HBO or something like that and didn't think more about it. Then last weekend in my bedroom, with the old DVR, I remembered about the "free" HBO and tried to watch the channel, of course it showed that I wasn't subscribed to it. Later I tried in the SD box and it was the same. I have the DCH box connected to a projector, so I didn't want to check just for that.
Last night I remembered and tried HBO-HD, and yeah it worked!. Cinemax is also viewable. Starz is not. I'm subscribed to Showtime so that always works. I checked the SD channels and they are available too.
I know that when people post free channels in this forum Comcast always fix the problem. I really don't care if I lost the channels.
So, I'm really curious about this, what could be happening here? Is it something related to the smart cards?

The DVR fee bundles in the HDTV equipment fee.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I tend to not over analyze my cable bill. It would just depress me and ignorance is bliss. :D

Haven't we been hearing about this for years from this company? :D

"Motorola’s John Burke on Multi-Room DVR, the Internet in your Living Room and More"

http://connectedhome2go.com/2007/12/31/motorola%e2%80%99s-john-burke-on-multi-room-dvr-the-internet-in-your-living-room-and-more/


BTW, hope everyone has a Safe and Happy New Year!

CableCard self-installable

I bought a new TV with CableCard slot, so I called Comcast about the possibility of transferring the card that I have from an older TV. As expected, the CSR said that it is not recommended, and that I really should get a new card. But then she said that starting January 8, customers can pick up the card at the local Comcast store and install it without having a Comcast tech to do it. That's a nice change, and it saves about $16. Just a FYI.

ok...so yesterday Comcast came out and installed their phone and internet service. I already have the cable so i just made it all the triple play.

now my question isn't necessarily a question about the TV signal etc but was hoping that many of the more then helpful people here on the AVS forum might have run into this problem and no how to fix it.

so basically my internet service went through AT&T previously and i had 6.0mb plan and on speed checks I would routinely run about 5.2 to 5.2mb and downloads were fast as well as loading of video at such site like youtube.

So now I got the Comcast installed and first off noticed pages were loading up slow. I then went to the speed tests and after doing many different speed tests from different sites i'm getting on average about 600kb on the 6.0mb comcast plan. Just to make sure that maybe the speed tests were inaccurate I went and DL'd an 86mb file I DL'd just prior to changing to comcast. the file took about a minute on the AT&T and on comcast it was a staggering 7 to 8 minutes. I also went back to sites like youtube and loaded up video to see how long it would take and the loading is now not much fast than the actual play time of the video where as before I'd see the loading time of the video done in just seconds.

so now of course I call Comcast and I just got the feeling the 2 people I talked too had no idea what they were talking about. Basically the only good bit of information(i think) i got was that the slitter might be no good and to change it to a new one. The Splitter is "Signal Vision SV-2G". Would changing it out to say a Monster 2 way splitter really make the difference?? What other suggestions do you all have that would cause such slow rates of speed.

**side note I checked at 3 seperate times of the day and night and all have pretty much stayed the same.

also I'm sure you all will enjoy this little bit of customer service goodness Comcast gave me....when the cust. rep advised me it was the splitter I asked him should I just go by one of the offices to swap it out...and he responds "go buy one...they are cheap". I find it funny how they advertise speeds and get people like myself to switch over from AT&T and after all is done and those speeds are not only not met....but the speeds are not even close to being met I get the "we are done with you go find someplace else to spend "19.99" on and see if that fixes the problem you have. If not call us back.

confused-

I ran into similar problems when I moved about a month ago. I thought there was some problem with the line but ended up fixing it on my own. Unfortunately, I have no idea exactly how I did it. :) Here are some things you should definitely try before having Comcast come out:

1. Make sure you signed up for the 6Mbps service and not the 1.5 (Comcast has different levels of service)

2. Reboot all of devices. I know this is obvious but I think this can make a big difference. Shutdown your cable modem (be sure to pull out the battery too...the cable modems used for Comcast VoIP have built-in battery backups). Shut down any routers/switches you may have. Power on the cable modem first, let it get fully booted, then power on your switches/routers.

3. Plug a computer directly into the cable modem. You'll probably have to power-cycle the modem again since it doles out the dynamic IP based on the first MAC address it encounters (if you normally have a router connected to the modem, it will be looking for its MAC address).

4. Test the speeds on multiple test sites. My problem was that I was getting very good download rates from some servers, but not others. The one I like best is speedtest.net. It lets you choose from tons of servers across the globe.

I think what happened to me is somehow the routing tables were screwed up (either in cable modem software or the headend) and it was either fixed by me powering everything down and resetting or Comcast just fixed it on their own.

Comcast doesn't have 1.5mbit service. They have 6 and 8.

Your speeds sound very low. Actually they sound completely broken. 600k? Call a tech out to check it. They don't "guarantee speeds" so ... lie if you have to, tell them it doesn't work at all if that's what it takes.

You can also check your signal strength in the modem somewhere. There should be an IP address you can point your browser at. Try http://192.168.100.1/

Fwiw with "Speed Boost" I get upwards of 25MBits (yes, twenty-five) down and about 1600k up. That's brief burst speeds, then it settles back down to 6MB/362k

I was getting very close to what he was getting (i.e. ~600k) before I "fixed" my problem. He should definitely check his signal level but if it was a line problem, I would expect him to have television reception problems as well. I really would exhaust all troubleshooting options before calling a tech (unless there's a blatant signal problem). The chances of them saying "Oh, here's the problem" are pretty slim -- they'll probably just try swapping out your modem (something you could do yourself at the local office). I personally would rather try that then wait for a 4-hour window.

Might have too "hot" a signal, I had a similar problem when I first got hooked, we "splittered" it down and the speed both up and down increased dramatically.

I currently have 7.2 dBmV at a SNR of 35 for down and 48 dBmV up.

Might have too "hot" a signal, I had a similar problem when I first got hooked, we "splittered" it down and the speed both up and down increased dramatically.

I currently have 7.2 dBmV at a SNR of 35 for down and 48 dBmV up.

48dbmv up is a little high. Basically, if the reverse is outputting high power, it's because the modem has to do so in order to be be heard at the headend over the noise. It's kind of like having to yell at your buddy across the room because of the noise of the crowd.

This is not a good thing. 48 dbmv is workable, but it shouldn't have to be that hot to function. Anything over 50 is likely to be dicey in terms of packet loss.

As an example, I am at 36 dbmv in the reverse, and that means your modem is having to yell 16 times as loud as mine to be heard by the headend. This shouldn't be necessary and is indicative of plant problems.

thx
mike

I thought it was a little high as well. I think this all relates back to the signal quality problem I've been having for the last 4 mos or so, the one where I can't even get Comcast to respond to, even after repeated contacts with them.

I think I'm going to try Mr. J as the people here are completely unresponsive, you talk to them, their nod their heads, make notes, and that's all that ever happens - it's like talking to a brick wall that smiles at you.

I understand how to lower the "hot" inbound, but with an outbound that's trying too hard, is there really anything I can do at my end, other than making sure that the line is clean to the pole?

I'm currently getting symbol quality dropouts all the way to 0 on the HDHR manager app...

I thought it was a little high as well. I think this all relates back to the signal quality problem I've been having for the last 4 mos or so, the one where I can't even get Comcast to respond to, even after repeated contacts with them.

I think I'm going to try Mr. J as the people here are completely unresponsive, you talk to them, their nod their heads, make notes, and that's all that ever happens - it's like talking to a brick wall that smiles at you.

I understand how to lower the "hot" inbound, but with an outbound that's trying too hard, is there really anything I can do at my end, other than making sure that the line is clean to the pole?

I'm currently getting symbol quality dropouts all the way to 0 on the HDHR manager app...

There is no much you can do about the reverse. I assume there are no attenuators between the modem and the drop? Splitters act as combiners in the reverse direction, so you don't get losses in that direction. If you have attenuators installed in the path however, that will affect the reverse.

Typically, if the reverse is having issues, it means there are plant problems. It could be there is a lot of ingress noise in your area (you or your neighbors aren't hams are they?). You could terminate all your unused drops to prevent noise from entering the plant, though for this magnitude of a problem, I doubt that would be effective, but it's cheap thing to try.

If your downstream is hot, it looks like the plant isn't balanced properly. Have you talked to your franchise authority?

thx
mike

What kind of signal levels do I want on my cable modem? (http://www.dslreports.com/faq/3412)

CableCard self-installable

I bought a new TV with CableCard slot, so I called Comcast about the possibility of transferring the card that I have from an older TV. As expected, the CSR said that it is not recommended, and that I really should get a new card. But then she said that starting January 8, customers can pick up the card at the local Comcast store and install it without having a Comcast tech to do it. That's a nice change, and it saves about $16. Just a FYI.

This would be fantastic if true, I would also like the ability to move the cards around.

Right now I have 2 multistream cards in my Series 3, and 2 single stream cards in my TiVoHD. Would be great to move te cards around so that I have an extra card to put in the back of my TV.

Good News as I have a TIVO HD showing up 1/7 and have been trying to figure out how to schedule a 4 hour break for the cable card(s) install. Any chance that there is an announcement in writing from comcast that I can refer to?

What kind of signal levels do I want on my cable modem? (http://www.dslreports.com/faq/3412)

Yes, I've seen that, and my numbers seem to be within those recommendations, although I don't have an upstream SNR number to reference.

There is no much you can do about the reverse. I assume there are no attenuators between the modem and the drop? Splitters act as combiners in the reverse direction, so you don't get losses in that direction. If you have attenuators installed in the path however, that will affect the reverse.

Typically, if the reverse is having issues, it means there are plant problems. It could be there is a lot of ingress noise in your area (you or your neighbors aren't hams are they?). You could terminate all your unused drops to prevent noise from entering the plant, though for this magnitude of a problem, I doubt that would be effective, but it's cheap thing to try.

If your downstream is hot, it looks like the plant isn't balanced properly. Have you talked to your franchise authority?

thx
mike
I really need to just go through the whole setup, the HSI installer gave me about a dozen different splitters with different db drops per port and even some pass-through taps with drops. Currently the line is split(-3.5db), un-amplified line to the S3 and the other feeding an amplifier. The amp output is feeding a 3-way(-3.5,-7.5,-7.5 {The 2 -7.5 are terminated}.) which has the -3.5 drop feeding the HDHR and the modem. That line feeds a -12db passthrough/tap with the tap output feeding an HDHR, and the other drop, -12db, feeding the modem. This was a quick and dirty setup when he was here as the inbound signal to the modem was too hot, running about +12-15db. The splitter setup brought it down to +7db to the modem.

Confusing eh? :p

I think I'm going to run a separate line to the HDHR from the POE with a 3-way, the other 2 drops to the modem and the S3. I'll have to play around with different splitter configs and/or the amp to see if I can can get proper signals at all 3 devices.

Right now I think the line is being boosted and attenuated at different rates at different points all on the same line which doesn't seem like a good idea. :D

I really need to just go through the whole setup, the HSI installer gave me about a dozen different splitters with different db drops per port and even some pass-through taps with drops. Currently the line is split(-3.5db), un-amplified line to the S3 and the other feeding an amplifier. The amp output is feeding a 3-way(-3.5,-7.5,-7.5 {The 2 -7.5 are terminated}.) which has the -3.5 drop feeding the HDHR and the modem. That line feeds a -12db passthrough/tap with the tap output feeding an HDHR, and the other drop, -12db, feeding the modem. This was a quick and dirty setup when he was here as the inbound signal to the modem was too hot, running about +12-15db. The splitter setup brought it down to +7db to the modem.

Confusing eh? :p

I think I'm going to run a separate line to the HDHR from the POE with a 3-way, the other 2 drops to the modem and the S3. I'll have to play around with different splitter configs and/or the amp to see if I can can get proper signals at all 3 devices.

Right now I think the line is being boosted and attenuated at different rates at different points all on the same line which doesn't seem like a good idea. :D

None of that affects your reverse power levels as it's just combiners in the reverse.

None of that affects your reverse power levels as it's just combiners in the reverse.

Okay, then I really need to get them out here then. I was going to wait until the new 1GHz system was activated, but at this point I really have no idea when that's going to happen, so I'll just have to press the issue with them.

I really do think there is some sort of signal issue as I still get large RS uncorrected errors counts on just about every channel, to varying degrees. I only watch the 7 HD(8 with FSNBA-HD) that I get with Limited Basic. Particularly bad on KNTV(531MHz).

(Sent you a PM a on a somewhat related issue.)

Okay, then I really need to get them out here then. I was going to wait until the new 1GHz system was activated, but at this point I really have no idea when that's going to happen, so I'll just have to press the issue with them.

I really do think there is some sort of signal issue as I still get large RS uncorrected errors counts on just about every channel, to varying degrees. I only watch the 7 HD(8 with FSNBA-HD) that I get with Limited Basic. Particularly bad on KNTV(531MHz).

(Sent you a PM a on a somewhat related issue.)

If you are seeing uncorrected FEC errors there is a problem. Best if you just stick the modem or a STB on the feed to remove your internal wiring from the equation. If you still see uncorrectables then the plant is having issues.

If you are seeing uncorrected FEC errors there is a problem. Best if you just stick the modem or a STB on the feed to remove your internal wiring from the equation. If you still see uncorrectables then the plant is having issues.

Well, that's what I've always thought, but, when the tech came he measured the following signals:

QAM63 - 6.8dBmV
QAM75 - 4.9dBmV
QAM76 - 3.9dBmV

The following is in the CLI section on the work order

Ch2 - 12.7
Ch78 - 5.8
HSI - 4.09

Now, I don't know if those are + or - numbers, but he said the signal was fine, and when he found out it was feeding a TiVo he basically just shutdown, saying they had a guy that was familiar with TiVo's and that he would come out - and that's when my long saga of non-existent customer service started.

None of that affects your reverse power levels as it's just combiners in the reverse.

Are you sure about that? Any link to show this? A 3dB splitter (3.5 dB or worse in real life) also gives you a 3 dB loss in the reverse direction, if I remember my circuit theory correctly.

Yes, I've seen that, and my numbers seem to be within those recommendations, although I don't have an upstream SNR number to reference.

Here is a more specific one for Comcast:

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/15644

Looks like they finally got around to my area of Milpitas (bordering San Jose, east of 680). Was peeved to see digital channels go out last night, screwed my recordings of Conan/Craig Ferguson. But this morning my HD channel count almost tripled, and I appear to now be on ADS, yay! I seem to be authorized for all the new channels, didn't expect it since I don't have digital package (ESPN + few other channels grandfathered). Don't know how long this will last.

Anyone around my area also having no luck w/ TNTHD/ESPN2HD? The other channels seem to work.

Here is a more specific one for Comcast:

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/15644
Thanks, my numbers look good according to that, but I'm still going to try some homeruns from the POE and see what I get.

As Mark Twain once famously said, “Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.”

Sorry for the long absence but for personal reasons my time has been relegated to some more urgent matters but I imagine by the end of this month or the next I'll be able to return to the forum in a more active way than I have been able to lately. I just want to let people here know that I'm still around and will be returning very soon, you can't get rid of me that easily ;)

I shall return

Laters,
Mikef5

None of that affects your reverse power levels as it's just combiners in the reverse.
There is signal loss in reverse direction going through passive splitters. Easy way to check is to reverse your splitters and compare the signal levels.

I can see it now...Mikef5, wading ashore through S.F. Bay's salt ponds into Milpitas, cameras rolling, just like Dougie.... :D

I can see it now...Mikef5, wading ashore through S.F. Bay's salt ponds into Milpitas, cameras rolling, just like Dougie.... :D

"I'm Ready for My Close-up, Mr. DeMille" :cool: ;)

"I'm Ready for My Close-up, Mr. DeMille" :cool: ;)

There he is! I even tracked down your buddy, Mr. J, to see if he had heard from you. :)

There he is! I even tracked down your buddy, Mr. J, to see if he had heard from you. :)
Hi Jim,

Yep, I heard from Mr. J. and it dawned on me that I didn't let people here know that I was going to be gone for a while. Things should return to a more normal routine for me in a couple of months. Sorry for being so remiss, must be the old age catching up with me. :p

Laters,
Mikef5

Does anyone know if Comcast is planning on being more competitive with DirecTV as far as HD channel availability goes? Is there some kind of bandwidth or hardware limitation?

Mikef5,

This news was supposed to be broadcast by u, but since u r not here, I'd like to let everyone know that effective today, we milpitasers are officially upgraded. Now that we have most HD channels :)

TNTHD
UniversalHD
USAHD
MHD
TBSHD
HGTVHD
HistoryHD
NGOHD
DiscoveryHD
HDTheater
ESPNHD
ESPNHD2
....

Hope we can have the HDNet one day.

BXZ

Hi Jim,

Yep, I heard from Mr. J. and it dawned on me that I didn't let people here know that I was going to be gone for a while. Things should return to a more normal routine for me in a couple of months. Sorry for being so remiss, must be the old age catching up with me. :p

Laters,
Mikef5

maybe that's why we haven't heard from mike... he's too busy enjoying his new channels!

Mikef5,

This news was supposed to be broadcast by u, but since u r not here, I'd like to let everyone know that effective today, we milpitasers are officially upgraded. Now that we have most HD channels :)

Bxz are you getting in ESPN2 + TNT cleanly? All the other new channels are fine for me, but my 6412 is choking on these two. One tuner is picking up fair signal (and lots of pixelation, dropouts, audio drops), other is getting almost nothing and reporting poor S/N. Both are transmitting on 99Mhz channel.

Mikef5,

This news was supposed to be broadcast by u, but since u r not here, I'd like to let everyone know that effective today, we milpitasers are officially upgraded. Now that we have most HD channels :)

TNTHD
UniversalHD
USAHD
MHD
TBSHD
HGTVHD
HistoryHD
NGOHD
DiscoveryHD
HDTheater
ESPNHD
ESPNHD2
....

Hope we can have the HDNet one day.

BXZ

Thanks for the update but it is not entirely correct. The area near Zanker School is not upgraded and may not get upgraded until March or April. I know this because that's where my sister lives and she has not been upgraded. She also received a letter from Comcast informing her of this. I've talked with Mr. J. and he is looking into the reason for this delay.

Again, thanks for that update, I will be in and out of the forums but I have some medical issues to take care of so I won't be here as much as I would like.

Laters,
Mikef5

Does anyone know if Comcast is planning on being more competitive with DirecTV as far as HD channel availability goes? Is there some kind of bandwidth or hardware limitation?Yes. Probably won't see a lot of new HD channels until they go all-digital.

Oh cool... when approximately? Can we keep our current STBs?

Yes. Probably won't see a lot of new HD channels until they go all-digital.

Unless Comcast goes with SDV, I would expect to see the new Moto STBs, with the 1GHz tuners on board, to be deployed before any "explosion" in the number of HD channels from Comcast as that extra 150-160MHz of bandwidth on the new 1GHz systems is pretty useless without something to tune into it with.

stephen,

mine looks ok so far, i'm using cablecard.

bxz

Bxz are you getting in ESPN2 + TNT cleanly? All the other new channels are fine for me, but my 6412 is choking on these two. One tuner is picking up fair signal (and lots of pixelation, dropouts, audio drops), other is getting almost nothing and reporting poor S/N. Both are transmitting on 99Mhz channel.

Unless Comcast goes with SDV, I would expect to see the new Moto STBs, with the 1GHz tuners on board, to be deployed before any "explosion" in the number of HD channels from Comcast as that extra 150-160MHz of bandwidth on the new 1GHz systems is pretty useless without something to tune into it with.
I thought irrespective of SDV we had headroom in the 800mhz+ areas, especially with comcast's ability to shuffle non-basic analog channels to digital?

Would be nice if the local comast would at least keep up with lesser DMA comcast areas with respect to HD rollout. Since comcast has already negotiated carriage agreements for sci-fi, cnn & animal planet HD, can't they hurry up and throw the switch already?

http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/12/29/comcast-spreads-the-hd-love-to-more-of-southeast/

Most systems are 750mhz, so I wouldn't expect a lot of extra channels on 860/1Ghz systems, but both will have to wait until all-digital. I think freeing up 1 analog channel makes room for at least 2 HD channels, and they will probably eliminate 40+ analog channels (I assume they will keep "basic cable" analog 2-32 or so), and no it won't require new STBs, assuming you have at least a DCT-6200.

I thought irrespective of SDV we had headroom in the 800mhz+ areas, especially with comcast's ability to shuffle non-basic analog channels to digital?



860MHz+ systems will need equipment that can tune those freqs as currently deployed STBs only go to about 850-860 or so. That extra 140MHz in 1G systems is for future use as far as I can tell, at least until the new Moto STBs come out.

So, you have the headroom, but no tuner(STB) to grab those freqs.

Not sure of the tuning range of a TiVo, probably the same as the current Moto stuff.

Most systems are 750mhz, so I wouldn't expect a lot of extra channels on 860/1Ghz systems, but both will have to wait until all-digital. I think freeing up 1 analog channel makes room for at least 2 HD channels, and they will probably eliminate 40+ analog channels (I assume they will keep "basic cable" analog 2-32 or so), and no it won't require new STBs, assuming you have at least a DCT-6200.40*2=80 which is a lot of additional channels in my book.

860MHz+ systems will need equipment that can tune those freqs as currently deployed STBs only go to about 850-860 or so. That extra 140MHz in 1G systems is for future use as far as I can tell, at least until the new Moto STBs come out.

So, you have the headroom, but no tuner(STB) to grab those freqs.

Not sure of the tuning range of a TiVo, probably the same as the current Moto stuff.Why are you suggesting that I need 1ghz to get more HD? We received more HD several times last quarter without 1ghz. Mikef5 suggested that SDV is a long ways out for comcast so why are you also suggesting some new need for a new stb? I have an s3 tivo and it has been picking up the new HD rollouts just fine so far.

Why are you suggesting that I need 1ghz to get more HD? We received more HD several times last quarter without 1ghz. Mikef5 suggested that SDV is a long ways out for comcast so why are you also suggesting some new need for a new stb? I have an s3 tivo and it has been picking up the new HD rollouts just fine so far.

Several analog stations were removed last quarter to make room for the new HD stations. Comcast could definitely do this again (40 more times would be nice), but since there hasn't been an announcement of anything going away soon, who knows if and when new HD channels will be added.

Why are you suggesting that I need 1ghz to get more HD? We received more HD several times last quarter without 1ghz. Mikef5 suggested that SDV is a long ways out for comcast so why are you also suggesting some new need for a new stb? I have an s3 tivo and it has been picking up the new HD rollouts just fine so far.

What I'm saying is, that any bandwidth above 860MHz will not get you anymore HD channels as there is currently no way to tune anything in that frequency range. Once STBs with 1GHz tuners are deployed, then those freqs can deliver more HD.

There is probably room for more HD on current 860MHz systems, and I'm sure they will be more to come, but as the 750MHz systems become the lowest bandwidth systems, and there's a lot of them in the bay area, probably the largest system group by a large margin, I would expect that Comcast will not launch anymore HD than can be handled on a 750MHz system if only to keep a relatively like lineup across the area. I can't really see them launching HD channels that only a few 860MHz - 1GHz systems will be able to receive. I think there is only about three 1GHz systems being installed right now, so that's not a whole lot of subs.

Plus, we'll need the equipment, see the Moto PR regarding the MPEG4/1GHz tuner STB/DVRs below.

http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail.jsp?globalObjectId=9066_8995_23&pageLocaleId=2026
Motorola Media Center - Press Releases

I wrote:
Bxz are you getting in ESPN2 + TNT cleanly? All the other new channels are fine for me, but my 6412 is choking on these two. One tuner is picking up fair signal (and lots of pixelation, dropouts, audio drops), other is getting almost nothing and reporting poor S/N. Both are transmitting on 99Mhz channel.
stephen,

mine looks ok so far, i'm using cablecard.

bxz

Thx for the data point. They seemed to have boosted the signal a tad, it's working for me too now, picture & sound are clean although the diagnostics still report "poor" signal strength. 6+dB lower than some of the other new channels I checked. Maybe it has something to do with those channels being in the FM radio band.

Followup: spoke a little too soon, still had problems. I ended up jacking up the amplification on my Radio shack cable amp a few dB, now it's "fair", now works fine.

What I'm saying is, that any bandwidth above 860MHz will not get you anymore HD channels as there is currently no way to tune anything in that frequency range. Once STBs with 1GHz tuners are deployed, then those freqs can deliver more HD.Ah, I see. You're assuming that we don't get more HD channels without more bandwidth. I'm assuming we get more HD channels from existing bandwidth, with analog channels being taken out as necessary to free up the necessary bandwidth. This is the strategy that was used in the past and we were led to believe would be ongoing, from folks such as mikef5. If you believe his statements, we're already past-due for another round of HD channels (the ones that were to come out in December).
Plus, we'll need the equipment, see the Moto PR regarding the MPEG4/1GHz tuner STB/DVRs below.Yes, mpeg4 content distribution will be nice some day. I hope whatever comcast eventually does interoperates with the broadcom mpeg4 decoder in the tivo s3s. If comcast is going to try to force me to move to a motorola pvr in 6 months I might just as well go with directv's pvr...

I really would like to know comcast's HD timeframe so I know whether or not to turn to directv in the mean time.

Mikef5 had mentioned earlier that a few more HD channels would be added in Jan. Hopefully it is still on track.

Mikef5 had mentioned earlier that a few more HD channels would be added in Jan. Hopefully it is still on track.

Hopefully so. According to reports in the HDTV Programming forum, other Comcast markets are getting TLC HD, CNN HD, and SciFi HD, to name a few.

I just really want to make sure we have SciFi HD before the new final season of BSG starts in April. :D

Does anyone know if Comcast will give credit for service outages? My section of Mill Valley has been without service since Friday morning. It's a pretty trivial amount, of course, but it's annoying to be out of service, told by the CSR that "you are in a known problem area with no ETA for service restoration" . . . and to figure that you are paying about $5/day for the privilege.

Does anyone know if Comcast will give credit for service outages? My section of Mill Valley has been without service since Friday morning. It's a pretty trivial amount, of course, but it's annoying to be out of service, told by the CSR that "you are in a known problem area with no ETA for service restoration" . . . and to figure that you are paying about $5/day for the privilege. It's a good question. To its credit, AT&T gave us a decent refund for lose of service here in West Marin (the tower is still out), but a friend found far more resistance asking the same of Comcast.

BTW, today DirecTV and PBS announced an agreement to carry PBS stations on DirecTV. This will likely pave the way for KQED to be carried in HD on DirecTV soon.

Still no KRON though! ;)

Not sure when they started it, but I'm getting KRON-DT on DirecTV now. So that's KGO, KPIX, KNTV, KTVU, KRON, KBCW and FSNBA-HD(games only) for local HD on DirecTV.

Not sure when they started it, but I'm getting KRON-DT on DirecTV now. So that's KGO, KPIX, KNTV, KTVU, KRON, KBCW and FSNBA-HD(games only) for local HD on DirecTV.

KRON in HD on Direct? Well that's enough for anyone to switch! :-)

Ah, I see. You're assuming that we don't get more HD channels without more bandwidth. I'm assuming we get more HD channels from existing bandwidth, with analog channels being taken out as necessary to free up the necessary bandwidth. This is the strategy that was used in the past and we were led to believe would be ongoing, from folks such as mikef5. If you believe his statements, we're already past-due for another round of HD channels (the ones that were to come out in December).Yes, mpeg4 content distribution will be nice some day. I hope whatever comcast eventually does interoperates with the broadcom mpeg4 decoder in the tivo s3s. If comcast is going to try to force me to move to a motorola pvr in 6 months I might just as well go with directv's pvr...

I really would like to know comcast's HD timeframe so I know whether or not to turn to directv in the mean time.

The 1Ghz plant is going in because if you are going to do an upgrade, you always go for the highest frequency you can put in that's roughly the same cost. 1 Ghz costs not a lot more than 860, so why not?

Also, Comcast has more than video out there. Their telephony gear and cable modems (maybe even the docsis 3.0 stuff) can run up there freeing up room below for STB's to recieve HD.

Now, the difference between 860 and 750 is a different story. Comcast doesn't want to create another "tier" of customer, so they aren't exploiting the difference for additional HD channels. I think this is a mistake, because they are so far behind DirecTV, but they may just be planning on going to SDV on all systems, and on 860 plant, the can just broadcast some of the channels than would have to be switched on a 750 system. SDV does not have to be deployed in an identical configuration across all headends. If this is true, users in 860 plant systems will get the same channels than a 750 plant user would get, but fewer of them (if at all) would get switched.

But I wouldn't expect to see SDV anytime soon, Comcast is trailing others in trials, and as far as I know, does not have SDV deployed in any system on a production basis. When I'm at CES I'll chat with some old friends that work for Comcast and see if they are doing an "emergency" rollout of it... Time-Warner has had great success with it though. Tivo users notwithstanding.

thx
mike

KRON in HD on Direct? Well that's enough for anyone to switch! :-)

Absolutely. :p

In fact, it's been there for about 6 mos according to the research I did last night, gee, I wonder why it went so unnoticed? :p:D

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6517425.html?rssid=196

Any bets on whether we'll ever see this???? ;)

Also, Comcast has more than video out there. Their telephony gear and cable modems (maybe even the docsis 3.0 stuff) can run up there freeing up room below for STB's to recieve HD.
I recall Keenan looked up the specs for existing cable modems and they were also not 1GHz capable so there would be a similar migration process. Don't know about the telephony gear.

I believe mine operates at 705mhz.

I have a Philips 42PFL7432D. By using regular outdoor antenna, I can receive 50+ analog and digital channels around the San Francisco bay area.

However, it is very surprise to me that I also can receives the KTSF channel 26.1, 26.2 broadcasting on channel 6.1.

I contacted KTSF. They told me that they only broadcast on channel 26 (analog) and 26.1, 26.2 (digital).

Is there any body also encountered same problem?

I recall Keenan looked up the specs for existing cable modems and they were also not 1GHz capable so there would be a similar migration process. Don't know about the telephony gear.

The QAM video tuners in the current crop of DCT/DCH series STBs is only good for about 54MHz to 864MHz.

http://broadband.motorola.com/business/digitalvideo/productline_highDef_settops.asp
Motorola - Connected Home Solutions - Digital Video Solutions - High-Definition Set-tops


The new, DCX MPEG4 capable series have 1GHz tuners in them.

http://connectedhome2go.com/2008/01/03/motorola-mpeg-4-set-tops/
Motorola MPEG-4 Set-Tops « Media Experiences 2 Go

By using regular outdoor antenna, I can receive 50+ analog and digital channels around the San Francisco bay area.Wrong thread, John. Comcast folks don't generally use an outdoor antenna. :D

New to the forum but been reading it for a while. I'm in Sunnyvale 94087 area and just wanted to say some Comcast people came to the poles behind my house to do some work. Not sure if it's storm maintenance or if it's for upgrading so we can finally get more HD channels. But then again, we didn't lose power or internet/cable during the storm, so I'm hoping it's the latter.

We also got a postcard from Comcast saying that the upgrade had been delayed to Jan 4 - Feb 4. We'll see if that sticks.

Just thought I'd give an update on this end if anyone was wondering.

KRON in HD on Direct? Well that's enough for anyone to switch! :-)

Yep, all we need now is all the PBS Stations on Directv too!
I made the switch to dish but still have the HSI, can't live without that.

To my eyes, comcast seems to have a better, sharper picture than D* but i pay less and get more channels with directv. $21 for a second comcast HD DVR is outrageous, i think.

Looks like my area (Sunnyvale, 94086, between El Camino and Old SF, between Wolfe and Fair Oaks) has been upgraded from the dark days of 550MHz, perhaps some time within the last week - my TiVo S3 started recording "analog" channels in digital around 1/3/08, and I scanned through the channels in the 700s and saw the likes of TNT-HD, MOJO, and History-HD on my screen.

Hopefully in the next couple of days things will stabilize with the interaction between the guide data and what is reported by the CableCards - for example the TiVo thinks 724 is ESPN2HD, but really it's where ESPNHD (not the "deuce") lives with the new lineup - and hopefully my TiVo will start getting real guide data for all the new channels on my lineup. But for now I'm just happy that our system is upgraded.

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=142281&site=cdn

- MPEG-4 capable
- 1GHz compatible
- Docsis 3.0
- MoCX capable (for networked DVRs)

It's interesting how only one of the 3 models has dual tuners. I guess if you have interlinked/networked DVR's, it doesn't matter where the tuners are...

What is the latest Comcast HD DVR Dual Tuner Box

Appears that my Moto 6412 III HD Dual Tuner box did not survive the power outage after the January storm. The box came back on but only one tuner is working. I have done the requisite power cycling and had the box zapped. Comcast said I could get a new box delivered or pick one up at the store, which I will do. Easy question, what is the latest and greatest box that they offer. I am in San Francisco. Will it just be another 6412?

Thank You!

Matt

What is the latest Comcast HD DVR Dual Tuner Box

Appears that my Moto 6412 III HD Dual Tuner box did not survive the power outage after the January storm. The box came back on but only one tuner is working. I have done the requisite power cycling and had the box zapped. Comcast said I could get a new box delivered or pick one up at the store, which I will do. Easy question, what is the latest and greatest box that they offer. I am in San Francisco. Will it just be another 6412?

Thank You!

Matt

If you're in an ADS area, the DCH3416 is your best bet. If not then I believe the 6412 is the best you're going to get.

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

Now my modem is reading 705.000 MHz. Hopefully this means Hayward is a few steps closer to some new HD channels.

New to the forum but been reading it for a while. I'm in Sunnyvale 94087 area and just wanted to say some Comcast people came to the poles behind my house to do some work. Not sure if it's storm maintenance or if it's for upgrading so we can finally get more HD channels. But then again, we didn't lose power or internet/cable during the storm, so I'm hoping it's the latter.

We also got a postcard from Comcast saying that the upgrade had been delayed to Jan 4 - Feb 4. We'll see if that sticks.

What part of 94087 are you in? I'm near Remington and Hollenbeck. I haven't received the post card regarding the delay. I stopped checking daily for new HD channels. I figure I'll have them when I have them. I'm not going to rely on what some CSR, tech or post card says.

Finally upgraded (in Hayward Hills) :) :) :) Checked this morning I have 25+ HD channels. Wohoo!! Also the analog channels are coming in much more clear!

I recall Keenan looked up the specs for existing cable modems and they were also not 1GHz capable so there would be a similar migration process. Don't know about the telephony gear.

Most of the current cable modems are definitely not 1Ghz capable. If course Docsis 3.0 with its bonding will run in a different range and are very likely to be 1Ghz capable.

Docsis 3.0 is going to use up a lot of bandwidth on the cable and make HD even tighter....

Kevin

The Arris TM502G, which I think is the current telephony modem is only good to 860MHz as well for RF video.

As far as I can tell, and as noted by others, utilizing anything above 860MHz is going to need some new equipment.

Pretty sure the current TiVo units(Series 3 and HD TiVo) will not be able to do anything with freqs above 860MHz either.

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=142281&site=cdn

- MPEG-4 capable
- 1GHz compatible
- Docsis 3.0
- MoCX capable (for networked DVRs)

It's interesting how only one of the 3 models has dual tuners. I guess if you have interlinked/networked DVR's, it doesn't matter where the tuners are...

These are the DCX series STBs I was referring to earlier.

Comcast press release,

************************************************************ ****


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

comcast ceo brian L. roberts ANNOUNCES Project Infinity:

strategy to Deliver exponentially more Content Choice on TV

Comcast To Give Consumers More than 1,000 HD Choices in 2008

Announces Roadmap to Add 6,000 Movies with 3,000 in HD


LAS VEGAS, NV – January 8, 2008 –Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSK, CMCSA), the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications, today announced three major content initiatives at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show. Comcast CEO Brian L. Roberts unveiled the Company’s plan to give consumers more than 1,000 HD choices in 2008, its strategy to begin adding additional HD movies, and announced Project Infinity – its vision to give consumers the ability to watch any movie, television show, user generated content or other video that a producer wants to make available On Demand.

“Project Infinity plans to give consumers the best and most content they will find On Demand anywhere – more HD, more sports, more movies, kids’ programs and network TV,” said Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Corporation. “Project Infinity builds on our commitment to bring more content to people across all platforms at home and on the go, and we’ll work with our partners, programmers and video producers to deliver on this vision.”

More Choice – Project Infinity

Project Infinity envisions ever-increasing customer choice that continues the evolution of time-shifted viewing that began with the huge success of Comcast On Demand. Comcast’s vision is to give customers exponentially more content choices – all available to consumers at the click of the remote without having to buy any additional equipment.

Project Infinity is a logical extension of Comcast’s television and online content strategy, which has fundamentally changed the way people watch video. As Comcast’s On Demand library has expanded to offer more than 10,000 selections each month, viewership has grown dramatically, surpassing six billion views since 2003. Comcast customers now are selecting On Demand 100 times per second, with 275 million views monthly.

Comcast will support its plan for Project Infinity using its existing fiber network and national IP backbone. The Company plans to create a system of library servers that will efficiently serve VOD content to consumers from several key locations across the country. This system would enable Comcast to offer exponentially more VOD content.

More HD

Comcast plans to expand its current HD lineup beyond the hundreds of HD choices available today, which is already more than any other provider offers. By the end of the year, Comcast will make available more than 1,000 HD movies and TV shows every month, as well as the most popular television networks in HD as they debut. HD content is the fastest-growing category in Comcast’s On Demand library.

More Movies

With 1,300 movie titles available each month, Comcast Digital Cable customers already have access to more movies On Demand than they can find anywhere else. Beginning next year, Comcast plans to offer more than 6,000 movies a month, and more than 3,000 of them will be available in HD. Today, Comcast Digital Cable customers can choose from new releases as well as hundreds of free movies from Sony, MGM, FEARNet and Encore as well as movies from premium networks like Starz, HBO, Cinemax, Showtime and The Movie Channel – all available at their fingertips with no additional equipment.

More Content Online

Today the company also launched http://www.Fancast.com, the first online destination that will enable customers to find, manage and watch television and movie content wherever it is available – on Fancast, on television, online, on DVDs or in movie theaters. Fancast will provide consumers with an easy way to manage their entertainment experience as the number of viewing choices that are available across platforms continues to grow rapidly. In addition, Comcast currently makes more than 90,000 videos available at any time on Comcast.net.

For a webcast of Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts’ CES keynote address and for additional press information on Comcast announcements at CES, please visit www.comcast.com/ces.


About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (http://www.comcast.com) is the nation's leading provider of entertainment, information and communications products and services. With 24.2 million cable customers, 12.9 million high-speed Internet customers, and 4.1 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, ten regional Comcast SportsNets and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet business. Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.

Finally upgraded (in Hayward Hills) :) :) :) Checked this morning I have 25+ HD channels. Wohoo!! Also the analog channels are coming in much more clear!

Wow, glad to hear the Hayward updates are finally beginning. I can't wait to get home and see if the lowlands of Hayward were also upgraded. I'm not holding my breath, but hopefully it will happen sometime soon.

how much more is that going to cost per month?

how much more is that going to cost per month?

Don't know, the Fancast thing is free as far as I can tell, been using it for about an hour...

http://www.fancast.com/home

Wow, I guess Comcast is not going to compete with the Satellite guys in terms of HD channel line-ups. Waging their HD fight through On-Demand offerings seems weak in my opinion. I think most customers still prefer to have the many new HD channels on their systems instead of On Demand content.

Wow, I guess Comcast is not going to compete with the Satellite guys in terms of HD channel line-ups. Waging their HD fight through On-Demand offerings seems weak in my opinion. I think most customers still prefer to have the many new HD channels on their systems instead of On Demand content.

Not ever having the opportunity to use OnDemand I tend to agree with with you, but with over 6 billions views since inception, and subs selecting it 100 times per second, there must be something of worth there.

If I can see my favorite shows in HD by using OnDemand I'll definitely be using it. Of course, that would require getting a Comcast STB which I don't use - currently using an S3 TiVo - but would consider a single tuner non-DVR STB for OnDemand use...maybe...

Anytime something is available OnDemand I choose that even if it is part of the line up on a channel. Unfortunately sometimes those streams are a lower bitrate than when they play on a channel and thus look "grungier." They also need to reduce the banner ads especially on Fear.net as they are a little annoying and probably keep some folks away. After all if you are already watching Fear.net you already know it's there and don't have to be constantly reminding of it.

I have Comcast service out in Union City, CA. Channels 750 (Discovery HD) and 754 (Discovery Theater HD) are showing the same programming (Discovery HD). Is anyone else having this issue?

Looking into the diagnostics on my Tivo Series3, it looks like it was instructed to tune into QAM 256 at frequency 477000 kHz for both channels.

Even my SD set-top box is showing the same results on my channel guide.

Follow up on my problem. So the issue finally got resolved. Apparently, no one else in my area either cared or thought this was normal. The tech that worked on my issue lived in Union City, CA as well and saw the issue on his own home. After some searching, they found the problem with the main line. They had the satellite feed connected incorrectly for the Discovery Theater HD channel.

While I was talking with the tech, I happened to ask him whether or not we would be getting more HD channels (not on-demand stuff). He would not elaborate what channels, but he said more are coming very soon.

So if they don't offer say CNN HD as a channel, does that still mean they would have CNN HD content in OnDemand?

Of course CNN HD is a bad example because you would want to watch that stuff live.

It works for things like HBO HD and Showtime HD, especially if they can store say all seasons of the Sopranos and Six Feet Under instead of just the last season.

I would be surprised if they were able to have content in OnDemand if they haven't signed a deal with the network provider of that content to carry their HD channel.

Anytime something is available OnDemand I choose that even if it is part of the line up on a channel. Unfortunately sometimes those streams are a lower bitrate than when they play on a channel and thus look "grungier." They also need to reduce the banner ads especially on Fear.net as they are a little annoying and probably keep some folks away. After all if you are already watching Fear.net you already know it's there and don't have to be constantly reminding of it.

OnDemand is at a lower bitrate than the regular linear channels? I wasn't aware of that, are you sure?

Comcast press release,

************************************************************ ****


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

comcast ceo brian L. roberts ANNOUNCES Project Infinity:

strategy to Deliver exponentially more Content Choice on TV

Comcast To Give Consumers More than 1,000 HD Choices in 2008

Announces Roadmap to Add 6,000 Movies with 3,000 in HD


LAS VEGAS, NV – January 8, 2008 –Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSK, CMCSA), the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications, today announced three major content initiatives at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show. Comcast CEO Brian L. Roberts unveiled the Company’s plan to give consumers more than 1,000 HD choices in 2008, its strategy to begin adding additional HD movies, and announced Project Infinity – its vision to give consumers the ability to watch any movie, television show, user generated content or other video that a producer wants to make available On Demand.

“Project Infinity plans to give consumers the best and most content they will find On Demand anywhere – more HD, more sports, more movies, kids’ programs and network TV,” said Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Corporation. “Project Infinity builds on our commitment to bring more content to people across all platforms at home and on the go, and we’ll work with our partners, programmers and video producers to deliver on this vision.”

More Choice – Project Infinity

Project Infinity envisions ever-increasing customer choice that continues the evolution of time-shifted viewing that began with the huge success of Comcast On Demand. Comcast’s vision is to give customers exponentially more content choices – all available to consumers at the click of the remote without having to buy any additional equipment.

Project Infinity is a logical extension of Comcast’s television and online content strategy, which has fundamentally changed the way people watch video. As Comcast’s On Demand library has expanded to offer more than 10,000 selections each month, viewership has grown dramatically, surpassing six billion views since 2003. Comcast customers now are selecting On Demand 100 times per second, with 275 million views monthly.

Comcast will support its plan for Project Infinity using its existing fiber network and national IP backbone. The Company plans to create a system of library servers that will efficiently serve VOD content to consumers from several key locations across the country. This system would enable Comcast to offer exponentially more VOD content.

More HD

Comcast plans to expand its current HD lineup beyond the hundreds of HD choices available today, which is already more than any other provider offers. By the end of the year, Comcast will make available more than 1,000 HD movies and TV shows every month, as well as the most popular television networks in HD as they debut. HD content is the fastest-growing category in Comcast’s On Demand library.

More Movies

With 1,300 movie titles available each month, Comcast Digital Cable customers already have access to more movies On Demand than they can find anywhere else. Beginning next year, Comcast plans to offer more than 6,000 movies a month, and more than 3,000 of them will be available in HD. Today, Comcast Digital Cable customers can choose from new releases as well as hundreds of free movies from Sony, MGM, FEARNet and Encore as well as movies from premium networks like Starz, HBO, Cinemax, Showtime and The Movie Channel – all available at their fingertips with no additional equipment.

More Content Online

Today the company also launched http://www.Fancast.com, the first online destination that will enable customers to find, manage and watch television and movie content wherever it is available – on Fancast, on television, online, on DVDs or in movie theaters. Fancast will provide consumers with an easy way to manage their entertainment experience as the number of viewing choices that are available across platforms continues to grow rapidly. In addition, Comcast currently makes more than 90,000 videos available at any time on Comcast.net.

For a webcast of Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts’ CES keynote address and for additional press information on Comcast announcements at CES, please visit www.comcast.com/ces.


About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (http://www.comcast.com) is the nation's leading provider of entertainment, information and communications products and services. With 24.2 million cable customers, 12.9 million high-speed Internet customers, and 4.1 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, ten regional Comcast SportsNets and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet business. Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.

Nice catch there Jim :p

I just got home from my doctors appointment and checked my email and Mr. J. had left the same info for the forums.

Looks like this Project Infinity is going to be VOD on steroids. With all my down time I've been able to really check out Comcast's VOD and I'm very impressed with all the content that's on it, I keep finding new things on it all the time. Does this make up for not adding new channels ?? No, but it does give me something to peruse while waiting for the new channels to be added and there's lots to peruse. I just wish there was someway to do searches on the stuff that is on VOD, that would save me a lot of time not having to manually look for stuff on there. If you haven't looked at VOD in a while give it another look see, you might be surprised at what's there. My favorite spot ( besides the HD movies ) is the trivia section.... it's amazes me how much useless junk I can remember with this old brain of mine ;)

Gotta go check this Fancast site to see what's up with that.

Laters,
Mikef5

If you think about it, it makes total sense. I know I'm probably over-simplifying things but essentially it's just hard drive space that's required to build a gigantic library. The thing that's always ticked me off about VOD is that programs come and go...why not just leave them up there indefinitely? I know there's $$ issue's involved (e.g. HBO doesn't want to put the entire Sopranos series up there as they'll lose DVD sales). But even I'm sure they could work something out (i.e. commercials or something) to even things out.

Nice catch there Jim :p

I just got home from my doctors appointment and checked my email and Mr. J. had left the same info for the forums.

Looks like this Project Infinity is going to be VOD on steroids. With all my down time I've been able to really check out Comcast's VOD and I'm very impressed with all the content that's on it, I keep finding new things on it all the time. Does this make up for not adding new channels ?? No, but it does give me something to peruse while waiting for the new channels to be added and there's lots to peruse. I just wish there was someway to do searches on the stuff that is on VOD, that would save me a lot of time not having to manually look for stuff on there. If you haven't looked at VOD in a while give it another look see, you might be surprised at what's there. My favorite spot ( besides the HD movies ) is the trivia section.... it's amazes me how much useless junk I can remember with this old brain of mine ;)

Gotta go check this Fancast site to see what's up with that.

Laters,
Mikef5

(We have a mutual friend. :D )

So far, that Fancast seems a bit jerky during playback and the PQ is not all that good, I wonder what app they are using, the Netflix View Instantly program using Silverlight(MS) works really well, probably the best online viewing PQ I've seen.

The 1Ghz plant is going in because if you are going to do an upgrade, you always go for the highest frequency you can put in that's roughly the same cost. 1 Ghz costs not a lot more than 860, so why not?I've heard nothing of any 1ghz upgrade for my area. I don't know why you're advocating it to me as if I get to choose whether or not to modernize my cable plant to 1ghz.

I've been getting the HD channel upgrades so far without 1ghz.
If this is going to stop due to lack of 1ghz, then I probably need to more seriously look to a different provider.

Yes, I'm not expecting SDV to fix things near term. I do note that there are ~40 'expanded basic' channels that could presumably be moved to digital only freeing up sufficient bandwidth for comcast to keep up with HD channel rollout.

(We have a mutual friend. :D )

So far, that Fancast seems a bit jerky during playback and the PQ is not all that good, I wonder what app they are using, the Netflix View Instantly program using Silverlight(MS) works really well, probably the best online viewing PQ I've seen.

Jim,

We have friends ??? :D

I just looked at the Fancast site and I thought it was trying to tell me that I needed to upgrade my computer ( I love that word "upgrade" ) because I saw the same jerkiness in the videos as you did, glad it's not just me :). But it is a beta site so we need to give them feedback on what we like or dislike about the site and what needs to be fixed or upgraded. I'll give it a shot for a couple of months to see what happens and see what it looks like when it's not a beta site.

So hows the upgrades in Santa Rosa going ?? Sort of lost track of the upgrades for a while, but it looks like most of Milpitas is now done expect for my sisters area ( near Zanker school ) seems to be a problem in that area. I hear about it every time I see her, hope it gets resolved soon.

Laters,
Mikef5

Jim,

We have friends ??? :D

I just looked at the Fancast site and I thought it was trying to tell me that I needed to upgrade my computer ( I love that word "upgrade" ) because I saw the same jerkiness in the videos as you did, glad it's not just me :). But it is a beta site so we need to give them feedback on what we like or dislike about the site and what needs to be fixed or upgraded. I'll give it a shot for a couple of months to see what happens and see what it looks like when it's not a beta site.

So hows the upgrades in Santa Rosa going ?? Sort of lost track of the upgrades for a while, but it looks like most of Milpitas is now done expect for my sisters area ( near Zanker school ) seems to be a problem in that area. I hear about it every time I see her, hope it gets resolved soon.

Laters,
Mikef5

We had about 1100 homes passed with the new system, basically in areas where there are more cows and sheep than people. :p

No news on when the more populated areas will get dialed in. It'll happen when it happens, I just hope when it happens we get everything they have available across the bay area.

What part of 94087 are you in? I'm near Remington and Hollenbeck. I haven't received the post card regarding the delay. I stopped checking daily for new HD channels. I figure I'll have them when I have them. I'm not going to rely on what some CSR, tech or post card says.

I'm near Fremont and Mary. The postcard came sometime between December 23rd and 29th (I was on Vacation then so I got the postcard when I got back). I had received another delay notice before this one that said the dates were December-January sometime. But yeah, there's been so many delays that I'll believe it when I see it.

CableCom was out on my street yesterday doing...something. Finishing touches on the new fiber perhaps? Good thing it was done before today's rain here. 1 step (out of a million to go) closer to more HD. I'm hurrying up to wait.

So far, that Fancast seems a bit jerky during playback and the PQ is not all that good, I wonder what app they are using, the Netflix View Instantly program using Silverlight(MS) works really well, probably the best online viewing PQ I've seen.


I just looked at the Fancast site and I thought it was trying to tell me that I needed to upgrade my computer ( I love that word "upgrade" ) because I saw the same jerkiness in the videos as you did, glad it's not just me :). But it is a beta site so we need to give them feedback on what we like or dislike about the site and what needs to be fixed or upgraded. I'll give it a shot for a couple of months to see what happens and see what it looks like when it's not a beta site.

Laters,
Mikef5
Just checked out the Fancast site while on my lunch break. FWIW I didn't really see any jerkiness in the short time I watched.

The Fancast is great and all...but BRING IT TO THE TV!! I love the fact there 6 complete seasons of 24. But I can't sit down at my computer for hours at a time and watch TV.

Cable Cards are now available (in Santa Cruz at least) for self install-thanks for the earlier post with this information!

P.S. FWIW, I agree that so far SD on the TIVO HD (passed through using the Native option) is better than with the moto POS. I hope the HD and other digital is better as well.

The Fancast is great and all...but BRING IT TO THE TV!! I love the fact there 6 complete seasons of 24. But I can't sit down at my computer for hours at a time and watch TV.

Get a bigger monitor and a more comfortable chair. :D

I think I read in one of the blogs on it that it is coming to the STB, but I'm not sure about that.

I checked out Fancast, and parts of it looked really familiar. The shows we can watch are taken from Hulu.com. Not all networks are represented, and usually there are only a couple of episodes from the shows that are there.

The good thing I saw was a promise that sometime this year we would be able to program our DVR from the computer, and bookmark shows in VOD. I've only been able to do this for more than 5 years on my TiVo. :-)

Cable Cards are now available (in Santa Cruz at least) for self install-thanks for the earlier post with this information!

That's great! If anyone has gone through the actual self-installation process, please report your experience here.

Confirmed Cablecard self-install available in Santa Clara + Milpitas as well. Just went into the Santa Clara office and picked up M-card, took 5 minutes, hopefully install will go well tonight (or tomorrow if they won't do authentication at night).

Bonus for me: no extra charges for the M-card, so far. Somehow, probably through grandfathered policies I currently have HD-DVR for 13.95 + 3.50 on top of expanded basic, no digital cable tier fee, + am getting the new Milpitas HD channels. Supposedly they aren't charging me any more for the M-card for my Tivo. I was considering getting a 2nd TivoHD and dumping the 6412, but I suspect I'd then get hit w/ digital tier + additional outlet fee if I wanted a 2nd card, so I'm not going to rock the boat if this fee structure holds up and I continue to get all the HD channels.

Get a bigger monitor and a more comfortable chair. :D

I think I read in one of the blogs on it that it is coming to the STB, but I'm not sure about that.

You're right. I was just reading the Engadget blog on the Comcast presentation and they did say it would be available via the STB. But I still won't be happy until they actually make it available...:D

OnDemand is at a lower bitrate than the regular linear channels? I wasn't aware of that, are you sure?
Seems to be true of some content. I watched some MOJO stuff VOD and it pixelated more than I recall when watching it on a linear channel. Even the CBS streams of CSI look more pixelated than the linear channel (which is bad enough on the title sequence). That probably means that some of the content is re-encoded for VOD probably when they add the banners. Premiums like HBO and Showtime I recall being okay. There may be a thread over in the programming section on VOD picture quality.

Seems to be true of some content. I watched some MOJO stuff VOD and it pixelated more than I recall when watching it on a linear channel. Even the CBS streams of CSI look more pixelated than the linear channel (which is bad enough on the title sequence). That probably means that some of the content is re-encoded for VOD probably when they add the banners. Premiums like HBO and Showtime I recall being okay. There may be a thread over in the programming section on VOD picture quality.

I've notice the reduction in quality as well. If you compare the normal HD broadcast of a recent CSI, for example, the OnDemand version seems a bit grainer.

But the kicker is that I've not yet found any OnDemand that maintains the 5.1 audio format of the original. I don't look for many HD from OnDemand, but so far all I get is 2 channel stereo.

-Dave

Stephen,

Does TiVo charge u for the TiVO HD? I'm actually also consodering getting one last time I saw it in Costco. So u can put one M card and one S card in the Tivo HD box? What's the difference between two S card VS one M, one S card?

bxz


Confirmed Cablecard self-install available in Santa Clara + Milpitas as well. Just went into the Santa Clara office and picked up M-card, took 5 minutes, hopefully install will go well tonight (or tomorrow if they won't do authentication at night).

Bonus for me: no extra charges for the M-card, so far. Somehow, probably through grandfathered policies I currently have HD-DVR for 13.95 + 3.50 on top of expanded basic, no digital cable tier fee, + am getting the new Milpitas HD channels. Supposedly they aren't charging me any more for the M-card for my Tivo. I was considering getting a 2nd TivoHD and dumping the 6412, but I suspect I'd then get hit w/ digital tier + additional outlet fee if I wanted a 2nd card, so I'm not going to rock the boat if this fee structure holds up and I continue to get all the HD channels.

Does TiVo charge u for the TiVO HD? I'm actually also consodering getting one last time I saw it in Costco. So u can put one M card and one S card in the Tivo HD box? What's the difference between two S card VS one M, one S card?

$8.31 to $12.95 per month, or $399 lifetime. S-Card can only handle one channel, so you need either one M-Card or two S-Cards for the TiVoHD.

Does TiVo charge u for the TiVO HD?

Not monthly. I had an old Tivo w/ a lifetime (of the box) sub, took advantage of an offer to transfer the lifetime to a new TivoHD. So paid $299 + tax for the TivoHD + $199 for the subscription transfer. If you are a new Tivo customer, above the box cost, you either have to pay Tivo 12.95/month, or choose between various prepaid plans from $129/1 year to $299/3 years. Though perhaps the best bet right now is to get a family member/friend that already has Tivo to get you one w/ lifetime $399 service (gift offer only available to existing subs + expires Feb 2).

So $399 + somewhere between $260-299 for the box itself, is $660-$700 total upfront cost with no monthly cost. Vs. just renting the Comcast DVR at $13.95 (if you already have digital cable), it takes a long time to pull ahead, more than 4 years (less if Comcast continues to jack the rental price up). So it's a commitment, and you can't switch to satellite (w/o selling the Tivo & starting over). But OTOH:
- mostly better UI (especially search/wishlist features), don't have to reboot as often, doesn't lose all the guide data on a reboot. Less of the delayed response to remote followed by queued commands (although still a bit slow at times). Don't have to power off to toggle closed captioning (hate this on 6412, power interrupts recordings).
-Native resolution output mode (instead of forcing 1080i or 720p for all HD, which is suboptimal on many displays).
- expandable storage (ESATA) active
- transfer shows to and from PC
- MP3, photo streaming
- download content from PC or direct from Amazon Unbox (unfortunately no HD Unbox content, yet, so currently worthless for my prefs but hopefully they will offer this eventually)
- you can sell it & the lifetime retains considerable value as long as Tivo is still in business. Or maybe Tivo will come up with something new + another transfer offer.

Losses:
-OnDemand
-can't set up/check recordings while continuing to watch your recorded program

I used my series 1 Tivo for 8 years (1999 $700 including lifetime for one tuner, < 1/10 the storage, LOL), and my series 2 for 5 years, so I was willing to make the long term upgrade gamble on the Tivo.

So u can put one M card and one S card in the Tivo HD box? What's the difference between two S card VS one M, one S card?


The TivoHD needs only 1 M card for dual tuner operation. The older "series 3" model currently requires two cards (either S or M) for dual tuner operation, as the current software on that can only use the M-cards in "S" single stream mode. The older S3 is more expensive, but has a bigger stock drive, is plug-and-play with a greater variety of ESATA drives (TivoHD only accepts "Tivo approved" drives, currently only the Western Digital DVR Expander, without doing some minor hacking), and is faster at show transferring, but currently has this lack of M-card support defect.

One more advantage with TiVo: If you don't need the expanded basic portion, you can subscribe to just limited basic, or limited basic + digital classic. For the Comcast DVR, you must have expanded basic, which is $35+ per month, and digital classic.

You're right. I was just reading the Engadget blog on the Comcast presentation and they did say it would be available via the STB. But I still won't be happy until they actually make it available...:D

This should help,

Comcast at CES: 100Mbps connections coming this year
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080108-comcast-100mbps-connections-coming-this-year.html

...and this is regarding something that was discussed earlier in this thread, and obviously becomes a larger issue the more higher download speed is provided.

FCC: We'll investigate Comcast-BT Flap http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9845889-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

OnDemand is lower bitrate, and I don't know if this happens to everyone, but I'd say about half the time I try to watch something, it doesn't work. Maybe more often on popular stuff. I'm talking about free stuff, not for-pay.

OnDemand only works when you are watching someone else's :)

Yeah I played around with it a long time ago and it was worse than DVD quality and it was sluggish rewinding or fast forwarding.

But it is one thing cable has over satellite, with things like Howard TV.

Otherwise, yawn.

One more advantage with TiVo: If you don't need the expanded basic portion, you can subscribe to just limited basic...

That's what I did. I have only limited basic, I picked up an M-card from the C*mcast office yesterday. No installation fee, no monthly fee. They activated the card before giving it to me, so when I pluged it in, it just worked. I did have to go through the TiVo guided set up again. As a bonus, I now have 25 mus1c choice channels and the TiVo knows what and where they are. Seems C*mcast is sending Mus1c Choice clear QAM.

Oh, yeah, I'm in Sunnyvale, in a not-yet-rebuilt part of town.

I've been a lurker and occasional commenter here for a couple of years. Not much of an HD viewer though, pushing HD on a 36" Sony XBR400 was mostly a novelty. And after purchasing an expensive set as the Sony, I was bound to run it until the wheels fell off.

Well . . .years of use make the colors fade. Still not enough justification to off it.

Then last week the thing died a true Hollywood movie death. Pop! Sizzle! OOOOeeeeeeiiiiiii! then displayed the calibration screen unrequested, went to a multicolor wavy fade then some crackles and a final POP! and went dark for good. Away it goes. I'm very happy that I am not charged per pound for E-Waste disposal.

With little time to research I settled on two brands. Set off in the Friday rain clear to San Jose, asked a few key questions and left town with a Panasonic PZ700 42 inch plasma. Got home to what? Storm that took out the power.

I read the manual by the light of the camp lantern. Stared at the huge dark monolith with utter anticipation. Finally, I got to see the fruits of my labor in my living room later Saturday afternoon. So awesome! Family was amazed by WWE in HD.

Thanks gang.

Hahaha...welcome to the 21st century, Dave! When I moved a few months ago, it was a joy to finally rid myself of a first-generation Panny RPTV. The convergence had gotten so bad, I needed 3-D glasses just to see it properly.

WWE in HD.....now that's good ;)...and yes welcome to the 21st century with the the new purchase

I forget...is PG fully upgraded and do you get all the channels down there?

Confirmed Cablecard self-install available in Santa Clara + Milpitas as well. Just went into the Santa Clara office and picked up M-card, took 5 minutes, hopefully install will go well tonight (or tomorrow if they won't do authentication at night).

Cablecard install report:
Not too bad, minor hiccup. Called in, gave various ID numbers, got the card paired. Tivo reported "acquiring channel map", looked like it was downloading successfully, so ended call with rep who claimed he had done everything needed. After it was done, tested channels. Only unencrypted channels showed up. Flipping around testing things, Tivo spontaneously reboot itself. So at that point I ran guided setup. After that, still only unencrypted channels showed up. Also, I lost analogs like ESPN, since the Tivo now tried to acquire the digital simulcast channel but wasn't authorized. Cablecard conditional access (CA) screen reported valid pairing but "Auth:MP" for ???? instead of "Auth:S" for subscribed. So called in again & described problem. Tech sent an initialization hit, Tivo reported card restarted, and the CA screen looked a lot different, showing only a few lines at the top. Waited a bit, tech sent some other signal, then asked me to test. Went back to test channels, now got the ADS channels + ESPNHD, success! Ended call. Eventually CA screen reports full info.

Now I get everything I expected. Only downside is the ADS means channel changes between the former analogs is slower than it used to be, and no more ability to set recording quality. But picture quality is improved.

Stephen, did you call a special CableCard activation number, or was that a general tech support line?

General tech support, 1-800-COMCAST. On the phone tree, roughly English -> add services -> cable -> activate new equipment (in some order I forget).

WWE in HD.....now that's good ;)...and yes welcome to the 21st century with the the new purchase

I forget...is PG fully upgraded and do you get all the channels down there?

We've been at 750 for a couple years. Though capacity has not been as much of an issue as content. There is no ABC broadcaster in our DMA so we get a re-badged feed of KGO, with the Comcast Spotlight operation in charge. (Spotlight is the video advertisement arm of C*, responsible for the local ads you see on the cable stations).

Just recently got limited HD feeds of ABC programming. Some 26 linear HD channels. But I'm a big fan of VOD, right now I'm in the honeymoon stage with HD VOD. Test is to see if I can't sit down to watch and not find anything in HD.

PS - to all the cable card self installers, thanks for the feedback!

No major problems with my cable card self install last night. I did have to have comcast "hit" the box afterwords as I was not getting all the digital channels i should. However in hindsight I think I should have waited another 1/2 hour or so to see if they loaded. Nonetheless a painless experience to get Tivo HD running without a tech visit.

They just got SciFi HD in Chicago, and looks like Maryland and Florida also, when are we getting ours?

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=380705

I've been a lurker and occasional commenter here for a couple of years. Not much of an HD viewer though, pushing HD on a 36" Sony XBR400 was mostly a novelty. And after purchasing an expensive set as the Sony, I was bound to run it until the wheels fell off.



36'' CRT???? how many people were needed to lift that monster?
I hope you didn't break your back.

That's what I did. I have only limited basic, I picked up an M-card from the C*mcast office yesterday. No installation fee, no monthly fee. They activated the card before giving it to me, so when I pluged it in, it just worked. I did have to go through the TiVo guided set up again. As a bonus, I now have 25 mus1c choice channels and the TiVo knows what and where they are. Seems C*mcast is sending Mus1c Choice clear QAM.

Oh, yeah, I'm in Sunnyvale, in a not-yet-rebuilt part of town.
Not sure if you have limited basic only or limited basic + something else.

If you receive any channels with copy protection (additional layer beyond encryption) then be sure to get your card "paired". Activation gets you the encrypted channels that are CCI=0x00. Pairing gets you the encrypted channels with CCI=non-zero. If you don't get any of the latter it doesn't matter much other than being thorough.

Usually the CCI=non-zero stuff is for the movie channels, but it configuration is area-dependent.

I noticed i was getting NBC11plus (mostly weather) on 11-1 when i used to get NBCHD earlier. so i thought program assignments must have changed and did an "auto program" on my samsung LN-T4071 yesterday (Jan 8, 7pm). I got NBCHD on 11-1 back. But i lost FoxHD (channel 2-1) and CBS HD (5-1) after the channel scan. All the other digital channels are same as what i had before. I'm at the intersection of tasman and fair oaks in sunnyvale.

Comcast says they have not changed anything lately. Samsung says there is no QAM tuner problem. They asked me to unplug the unit for 5 minutes and scan again. Still i dont have 2-1 and 5-1.

Can someone do a channel scan and confirm that 2-1 and 5-1 are still present ?

I guess this just isn't going to happen, huh?
Mr. J: we're very disappointed :(

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally Posted by George-O
Dear Comcast,
....... please, please .... want my red recording light back on the DCH .... just like my old but trusty DCT in another other room of the house.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a major issue for me too!
I was told that Comcast management was aware of this and that they had techs who were addressing this issue back in September.
So much for that...

Replying to one earlier post about problems in 94089 -- 2-1 and 5-1 (which I believe are virtual channel numbers actually assigned to hyperband channel 74) are currently working fine over here in 94087 near Blaney and Homestead.

I *did* experience loss of those digital channels and signal impairment on hyperband analog channels (55 and up) after returning from vacation last week. Cause was eventually traced to a few dBmv lower signal being delivered to Point of Entry especially on higher frequencies -- still within Comcast specs but low enough to cause problems after a long cable run to an upstairs TV. Resolved temporarily with a signal amp.

You mentioned 11-1 and 11-2 -- I don't see any signal on 11 at all. I receive NBC-HD and other NBC sub-channels on superband channel 33-1, 33-2, etc. on my Samsung.

Lastly, interesting new development today -- After a very short (2 minutes)outage this morning, my Point of Entry signal levels just jumped between 4-8 dB depending on frequency range. For example, my cable modem had been reporting around -5 dBmv receive signal level, now is reporting +3 dBmv. Likewise, transmit level reduced from +48 to + 43 dBmv as it can apparently see the headend more readily.

Hoping against hope these tweaks are signs of progress here in 94087, where we are STILL waiting for the promised upgrade.....and waiting...and waiting. DirectTV is looking mighty tempting.

I noticed i was getting NBC11plus (mostly weather) on 11-1 when i used to get NBCHD earlier. so i thought program assignments must have changed and did an "auto program" on my samsung LN-T4071 yesterday (Jan 8, 7pm). I got NBCHD on 11-1 back. But i lost FoxHD (channel 2-1) and CBS HD (5-1) after the channel scan. All the other digital channels are same as what i had before. I'm at the intersection of tasman and fair oaks in sunnyvale.

Comcast says they have not changed anything lately. Samsung says there is no QAM tuner problem. They asked me to unplug the unit for 5 minutes and scan again. Still i dont have 2-1 and 5-1.

Can someone do a channel scan and confirm that 2-1 and 5-1 are still present ?

Do a "QAM channel missing" search in the 71 owners thread to see how I solved this problem. I might have posted the solution in this thread also, in the early December time frame.

I've been seeing my numbers jump around quite a bit as well, one day I'm at +12 dbmv and the next, or even later that day it's down to around +2 dbmv. Makes it hard to get things dialed in. I'm currently at +4.3 dbmv with an upstream of 50 dbmv, which is getting close to the recommended limit.

Still getting large RS UE's with the video as well, but I think I'll just suffer through it until they light up my neighborhood, which hopefully will be soon.

Confirmed Cablecard self-install available in Santa Clara + Milpitas as well. Just went into the Santa Clara office and picked up M-card, took 5 minutes, hopefully install will go well tonight (or tomorrow if they won't do authentication at night).

Bonus for me: no extra charges for the M-card, so far. Somehow, probably through grandfathered policies I currently have HD-DVR for 13.95 + 3.50 on top of expanded basic, no digital cable tier fee, + am getting the new Milpitas HD channels. Supposedly they aren't charging me any more for the M-card for my Tivo. I was considering getting a 2nd TivoHD and dumping the 6412, but I suspect I'd then get hit w/ digital tier + additional outlet fee if I wanted a 2nd card, so I'm not going to rock the boat if this fee structure holds up and I continue to get all the HD channels.

I have less luck. My wife went into the Sunnyvale office to try to get the CableCard. They said we have to pay $7/month to get it. We currently have one CableCard, so we're trying to get another one for a new TV. According to Comcast's logic, we have to pay the "additional HD outlet" fee of $7, but they magnanimously declared that there is no rental fee for that second card. We're not very happy, because earlier I was told by a Comcast CSR that we only need to pay the monthly rental fee of less than $2/mo to get a second card.

I'm thinking of moving our CableCard from the older TV to the new one. I think I don't need a technician visit to do that, right? Has anyone successfully done that?

CLau, Comcast is correct on this one. $7 is the additional outlet fee, which includes either a STB or a CableCard. $2 is for the second card in the same two-card device, like TiVo.

CLau, Comcast is correct on this one. $7 is the additional outlet fee, which includes either a STB or a CableCard. $2 is for the second card in the same two-card device, like TiVo.

It's kind of wrong to charge the same amount for a CableCard as a HD STB.

It's kind of wrong to charge the same amount for a CableCard as a HD STB.It's not $6.95 for an HD STB. It's a DCT-700 SD STB for that price. For HD STB it's $6.95 (add'l outlet) + $7 (HD STB).

It's not $6.95 for an HD STB. It's a DCT-700 SD STB for that price. For HD STB it's $6.95 (add'l outlet) + $7 (HD STB).

Well, I guess the CSR that I talked to was wrong then. I told her I didn't think it was fair to pay the same price for the CableCard as a HD STB, and she said that was what the price list said.

Does anyone have a Comcast price list?

It's not $6.95 for an HD STB. It's a DCT-700 SD STB for that price. For HD STB it's $6.95 (add'l outlet) + $7 (HD STB).
Shhh, don't remind Comcast or they will pull a yunlin and try to charge him $6.95 a/o fee for the CableCARD + $7 for the HDTV "service" even though that is clearly listed as an equipment fee. It took yunlin several tries over many months to get that one fixed.

...and this is regarding something that was discussed earlier in this thread, and obviously becomes a larger issue the more higher download speed is provided.

FCC: We'll investigate Comcast-BT Flap http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9845889-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

To keep things fair and balanced, the below link is an article about Comcast's response to the above.

Comcast Welcomes FCC Traffic Management Inquiry
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,141223-c,ces/article.html

To my surprise, when I came back from work and turned on the tube, all the new channels were there! I was so happy that I almost teared up in front of my wife! She thinks I am overreacting about the new channels anyways...

So being only 4 days after they stated in the letter, I have to hand it to Comcast to finally deliver to our area after so many years! (Wolfe/Lawrence/El Camino/Reed)

On Demand only has premium channels showing, but I know from earlier posts that the other contents come about a month later.

There must really be a Santa...

-Steve

Wow - congratulations. We still don't have it in my 94086 neighborhood (have never gotten a letter) and am switching to DirecTV. See ya Comcast! Hope I don't regret the change...