Tell you what....best move I ever made was switching to Gmail (and never again being tied to an ISP because I didnt want to have to contact everybody about my "new" isp)..that way you never think twice about switching to whoever is best for speed/cost/reliablity etc.... :D

Gmail has everything I would ever need for email (wife uses yahoo, which works as well)

Same here, and for about $8 a year I registered my own domain name, tied it to an email address and have everything forwarded through it. I'll never have another ISP linked email address. I couldn't even tell you what my Comcast email addy is, never even been to the home page. :p

Any rumors when Blast! will Blast us in Sunnyvale?

They already screwed the PQ, at least cheer me up with Blast :\

Seriously... what is it with the PQ in Sunnyvale? Mikef5? Mr. J? Anyone?

12 hours of MHD.

http://www.w6rz.net/mhd.png

Ron

Tell you what....best move I ever made was switching to Gmail (and never again being tied to an ISP because I didnt want to have to contact everybody about my "new" isp)..that way you never think twice about switching to whoever is best for speed/cost/reliablity etc.... :D

Gmail has everything I would ever need for email (wife uses yahoo, which works as well)

Same here, and for about $8 a year I registered my own domain name, tied it to an email address and have everything forwarded through it. I'll never have another ISP linked email address. I couldn't even tell you what my Comcast email addy is, never even been to the home page. :pI already have a gmail account AND my own domain (six, actually).

But, I still don't understand what makes me stupid for having ATT DSL vs Sonic.net, and why should I switch. I still don't get it.

Sonic.net gives you free web hosting with a free domain name, 15 email addresses with IMAP access (if for some reason you don't use gmail), and blazing-fast usenet access (usually you'd have to get that from a 3rd party for at least $10/month). These are the main added-value things they offer, but admittedly, not everyone cares about these things.

Beyond that, though, they have the best customer service of any company I've ever dealt with. Plus, they're never gonna pull any dirty tricks in restricting access or throttling speeds like both Comcast and AT&T have been in the news for lately.

I was probably being a bit extreme calling AT&T customers stupid, but I just feel so much better supporting a company that cares about their customers and wants to do the right thing, not just the most profitable thing. And soon they'll be running their own equipment in Santa Rosa instead of leasing from AT&T, and offering speeds beyond what AT&T will give us, and they plan on expanding that to other cities in the bay area. So if you care about there actually being an alternative to the big guys, support Sonic.

But, I still don't understand what makes me stupid for having ATT DSL vs Sonic.net, and why should I switch. I still don't get it.

May be because you even mentioned email in the context of which ISP to go to.. it looks like your email partly affects your ISP decision. ISP is about bandwidth, cost, stability etc and has nothing to do with email for most people I know.

12 hours of MHD.

{Image of severely flat-topped grass}

RonWow. I mean...ugh!

I could not help myself...Just bit on the DISH HD only package. This after calling comcast and asking if any new HD channels or upgrades were scheduled for my area. They said "no." I do appreciate their honesty. I will keep their most basic cable for second TV. IF all goes as planned I will have 40 HD channels (some of which I even want) through DISH and get my locals in HD OTA. Again IF it all works out I will save about 40 a month and have more HD with more added regularly. Install is scheduled for this Sunday.

I could not help myself...Just bit on the DISH HD only package. This after calling comcast and asking if any new HD channels or upgrades were scheduled for my area. They said "no." I do appreciate their honesty. I will keep their most basic cable for second TV. IF all goes as planned I will have 40 HD channels (some of which I even want) through DISH and get my locals in HD OTA. Again IF it all works out I will save about 40 a month and have more HD with more added regularly. Install is scheduled for this Sunday.

Please let us hear how you like it once it up and running.

Wow. I mean...ugh!

That does look bad, although it appears the channel is getting some 18Mbps plus, so is it coming in that way to Comcast, or have they got something really screwed up at CMC?

May be because you even mentioned email in the context of which ISP to go to.. it looks like your email partly affects your ISP decision. ISP is about bandwidth, cost, stability etc and has nothing to do with email for most people I know.As far as I can tell, Sonic doesn't offer any difference in bandwidth, cost, and stability. (They appear to simply be reselling ATT DSL with some add-ons that have no value to me.)

As for changing email, it is an important issue for many people. It is indeed a hassle. Hence, the major ISP's offering ways to simplify the procedure and contact notification process.

But, whichever DSL service one finds superior, the important thing to remember is that there are less-costly alternatives to Comcast HSI. As such, C* HSI should not be the thing that entices people to stay with C* TV, if the TV service isn't meeting their needs.

As far as I can tell, Sonic doesn't offer any difference in bandwidth, cost, and stability. (They appear to simply be reselling ATT DSL with some add-ons that have no value to me.)

As for changing email, it is an important issue for many people. It is indeed a hassle. Hence, the major ISP's offering ways to simplify the procedure and contact notification process.

But, whichever DSL service one finds superior, the important thing to remember is that there are less-costly alternatives to Comcast HSI. As such, C* HSI should not be the thing that entices people to stay with C* TV, if the TV service isn't meeting their needs.
Sonic is now a registered telco, just like AT&T, versus just being an ISP. By putting their own equipment at the CO they can offer better features, such as faster speed, reliability and cost. In basic terms, it's like plugging directly into the internet backbone instead of going through AT&T. They've just started rolling out business service internet under this new configuration, and apparently it's very nice.

I'm looking forward to their residential ADSL2+ service, even if it's a little more costly than Comcast HSI, the added benefits, as Jason noted above, should be well worth the extra cost. As noted, the customer service is second to none. I inquired about their residential service via email and 5 mins later I had an answer, how long(days?) do you think I'd be waiting on Comcast on a query such as that? By my reckoning, Comcast still has about 4 "open" non-responsive customer service queries/issues made by me over the last 8 mos or so.

Hey folks.

I live in the Richmond area and yesterday my TivoHD informed me of the new HD channels, including Sci-fi HD, that were added to the lineup. They are not working for me right now though. I've been hearing about the April 15th launch date but can't seem to find out the source of this information.

Last night I called Comcast and they seemed to be saying that the channels should be active and they set up an appointment for an installer to come out today to check it out. The weird thing for me is that a couple of other HD channels like UHD(739) and NFLHD(730) have not been working for me and exhibit the same lack of signal problems as these new HD channels, yet they have been part of the HD lineup much longer.

Maybe there are two separate issues going on here.

Update: Well I called Comcast again on a whim and this time I got someone who immediately knew about the April 15th launch date. So that explains the no Sci-fi HD yet.

As for the NFLHD, that turned out to be a subscription channel that I don't subscribe to. But UHD should be working and they tried sending a hit to my cable cards which didn't work. Seems like a completely separate issue. The installer is still coming out and hopefully I can at least get that resolved. I also requested a M-card, which they didn't have when I first had cards installed last year. No sense getting charged for an extra card and maybe that will fix the problem.

I called Comcast about this last night but the person I talked to hadn't a clue. I figured Tivo had gotten it wrong. I'll look forward to seeing the rest of this season's BSG in HD.

That does look bad, although it appears the channel is getting some 18Mbps plus, so is it coming in that way to Comcast, or have they got something really screwed up at CMC?

there's nothing wrong with it, it's hitting 18 regularly, that's good actually. 18 is the max, it can't go any higher! not on HDTV anyway, maybe Blu-ray.

I registered my own domain years ago when I got sick of xyz@TCI, then xyz@ATTBI, and then to top it off when they changed it to @Comcast it changed from .com to .net which nobody.. I mean NOBODY ever remembers to change. "I sent you email at blahblah at Comcast dot com why didn't you get it??" GRRRR

Well worth the $8 a year at namecheap.com
And then yeah, Email forwards to Gmail which has great spam filters too. Though for a couple more bucks a month they have POP3 access also so you can use Outlook, etc..

I registered my own domain years ago when I got sick of xyz@TCI, then xyz@ATTBI, and then to top it off when they changed it to @Comcast it changed from .com to .net which nobody.. I mean NOBODY ever remembers to change. "I sent you email at blahblah at Comcast dot com why didn't you get it??" GRRRR

Well worth the $8 a year at namecheap.com
And then yeah, Email forwards to Gmail which has great spam filters too. Though for a couple more bucks a month they have POP3 access also so you can use Outlook, etc..
Went with Namecheap as well, on your recommendation, and yes, Gmail has FANTASTIC spam filtering, I think I've had maybe 5 in my spam box in over 4 mos, and never any in the main box.

there's nothing wrong with it, it's hitting 18 regularly, that's good actually. 18 is the max, it can't go any higher! not on HDTV anyway, maybe Blu-ray.

Yes, 18 is good, but what I'm curious about is those segments that seem to be pushing right at that 18, something has to give. It's what an overly compressed audio CD would look like.

That may be due to the way he's sampling the data and building the graph. I suppose it would be bad if it was constantly running up against the 18.xx mbps limit though..

It's clear they're not compressing those signals like was shown earlier, though. At least not yet. :eek:

is their a way to know who will get the new channels on the 15 ? cause i live i east palo alto and since i acquired my tv and hd box in January ive had every channel available... i wonder if its safe to assume i wil be upgraded in the 15th ?

is their a way to know who will get the new channels on the 15 ? cause i live i east palo alto and since i acquired my tv and hd box in January ive had every channel available... i wonder if its safe to assume i wil be upgraded in the 15th ?
Yea if you're in East Palo Alto you'll definitely be getting the new channels on the 15th. It's being launched in all systems which have been rebuilt. So basically if you have access to on demand or have channels 702-792 in your HD line up, those 6 channels will be launched on the 15th in your area.( AMC HD on ch 769. has been confirmed as a late addition to the original 5) Other areas like parts of Santa Rosa, Hayward, Saratoga, Sunnyvale, etc will have to wait until the rebuild work is done in their respective neighborhoods to see those new channels

^^ thanks you so much !! being a huge wrstling fan im really hapy il be abel to watch ECW in HD!

Don't know if anyone has noticed but at least for Fremont, 94536, the Comcast Web based TV Guide lists the following as of last Saturday:
736 SciFi HD
747 Food HD
752 TLC HD
759 CNN HD
862 APL HD
:D

Giants game looked really good today on CSN. Also noticed they are not "squishing" the screen anymore to overlay the ticker. Good job.

^^ thanks you so much !! being a huge wrstling fan im really hapy il be abel to watch ECW in HD!

Me too.

3rd generation wrassling fan.

Giants game looked really good today on CSN. Also noticed they are not "squishing" the screen anymore to overlay the ticker. Good job.

This is excellent news, the squishing was bothering me. Bonus points to Comcast for that.

^^ thanks you so much !! being a huge wrstling fan im really hapy il be abel to watch ECW in HD!

Me too.

3rd generation wrassling fan.Now, the two of you will be able to enjoy every bead of sweat on those rippling, glistening, oiled and muscled wrestlers.

(Not that there's anything wrong with it.)

Don't know if anyone has noticed but at least for Fremont, 94536, the Comcast Web based TV Guide lists the following as of last Saturday:
736 SciFi HD
747 Food HD
752 TLC HD
759 CNN HD
862 APL HD
:DAre you talking about the Comcast TV Planner at http://tvplanner.comcast.net? I don't see the new channels listed yet for San Jose/Campbell.

I added the Dish HD only package on Sunday. I have had comcast HD for two frustrating years.

1/2 hour into the 5 hour window he was here with all the right equipment. He was friendly and knew the install process which went fine

He was out the door quick and said to call him if the HD channels did not show in 20 minutes...they didn't. I have his cell...called him and within 5 minutes HD was up.

I realized after scanning my ota that the program guide was listing the channels correctly but was not listing any programs. Tried their live chat...AS BAD AS COMCASTS...The agent had no idea what I was talking about (although said she did) and stated there was "nothing they could do." I did a quick search on DBStalk and found the answer-in some areas you have to pay the $5/month fee for the SD locals so that Dish will allow the ota info to load. Ridicules but I cant program the dvr without it. I call to complain-the csr says I am wrong. He has me due the initialization process, etc. He says the problem is that my satellite signal strength is way low. He has to have a tech out. But my area is "down" blah, blah, blah. He agrees to hit the box with the sd locals-for 5 bucks a month. YEA problem solved!!! AND MANY THANKS TO DBSTALK.
CSR is "surprised." He still says to have satellite adjusted, but he cant figure out how to contact local company....So I just call the installers cell. He gets back to me in 10 minutes.Talks me through how to read the numbers. The signal is fine.

No time to look at the quality of their HD vs. comcast...more later after I reduce my comcast cable from $85 month to $14 AND return my motto dvr (POS)!

Does Dish give you a free HD DVR when you sub to only HD and locals? What is the total monthly charge with all fees?

My folks use Comcast and have a Comcast DVR. They want to install a Tivo HD on a second TV and Comcast (Hayward) plans to charge them $6.99 per month for two cable cards. This seems ridiculous. Anyone else have a secondary TV using cable cards? How much?

I only have one TV with a Series 3 Tivo and I get charged $1.79 per month for the dual cable cards.

Thank you.

Does Dish give you a free HD DVR when you sub to only HD and locals? What is the total monthly charge with all fees?

My monthly bill will be: $29.99 for DishHD, $5.98 for VIP 722 DVR and $5 for locals + tax.

If you sign your life away (they call it a two year commitment) then Standard install is free-usually $49, you get 3 months free, and 9 months of Dish home protection plan for free. WHich is about $160 in savings

My folks use Comcast and have a Comcast DVR. They want to install a Tivo HD on a second TV and Comcast (Hayward) plans to charge them $6.99 per month for two cable cards. This seems ridiculous. Anyone else have a secondary TV using cable cards? How much?

I only have one TV with a Series 3 Tivo and I get charged $1.79 per month for the dual cable cards.

Thank you.

Actually, I think they may even charge them more than $6.99: the Comcast CSR's are consistently inconsistent.

Since they will have two HD outlets, Comcast will bill them for an HD outlet charge of $6.99. The additional CableCard should be about $1.79 each.

Originally Posted by marswill View Post
Don't know if anyone has noticed but at least for Fremont, 94536, the Comcast Web based TV Guide lists the following as of last Saturday:
736 SciFi HD
747 Food HD
752 TLC HD
759 CNN HD
862 APL HD
Are you talking about the Comcast TV Planner at http://tvplanner.comcast.net? I don't see the new channels listed yet for San Jose/Campbell.
__________________
Yes, I'm talking about http://tvplanner.comcast.net for zip 94536 although I haven't been able to access the channels yet. Hopefully that will change tomorrow.

Don't know if anyone has noticed but at least for Fremont, 94536, the Comcast Web based TV Guide lists the following as of last Saturday:
736 SciFi HD
747 Food HD
752 TLC HD
759 CNN HD
862 APL HD
:D

I still haven't seen any notices on my Comcast STB or any notification in the mail about these new channels. Hopefully everything is still on schedule to bring these channels to us tomorrow.

My folks use Comcast and have a Comcast DVR. They want to install a Tivo HD on a second TV and Comcast (Hayward) plans to charge them $6.99 per month for two cable cards. This seems ridiculous. Anyone else have a secondary TV using cable cards? How much?

I only have one TV with a Series 3 Tivo and I get charged $1.79 per month for the dual cable cards.

Thank you.

If they keep the Comcast DVR, then yes Comcast is in their right to charge them $6.99 for the additional outlet, as well as $1.79 for the dual cable cards. If they get rid of the Comcast DVR, and the Tivo is the only cable outlet they have, then they should not be charged the $6.99 extra outlet fee, as Tivo box is considered one outlet, and they will still pay $1.79 for a dual cabel card charge.

My monthly bill will be: $29.99 for DishHD, $5.98 for VIP 722 DVR and $5 for locals + tax.

If you sign your life away (they call it a two year commitment) then Standard install is free-usually $49, you get 3 months free, and 9 months of Dish home protection plan for free. WHich is about $160 in savings

Didn't Tivo just win some massive lawsuit against Dish that's going to effectively force Dish to no longer be able to use their DVR in the current form? I haven't really been following this...just saw a few headlines a few days ago.

If they keep the Comcast DVR, then yes Comcast is in their right to charge them $6.99 for the additional outlet, as well as $1.79 for the dual cable cards. If they get rid of the Comcast DVR, and the Tivo is the only cable outlet they have, then they should not be charged the $6.99 extra outlet fee, as Tivo box is considered one outlet, and they will still pay $1.79 for a dual cabel card charge.

Yunlin's right. Anything after your first STB (DVR or just a plain old STB), you will be charged the $6.99 additional outlet fee on top of any extra service (i.e. DVR service, CableCARD rental, etc.)

Now, the two of you will be able to enjoy every bead of sweat on those rippling, glistening, oiled and muscled wrestlers.

(Not that there's anything wrong with it.)

I can't name another event where 3 generations in the same family enjoy. I'm sure my grandmother would be there too if she were here.

Pepper Gomez FTW!

Didn't Tivo just win some massive lawsuit against Dish that's going to effectively force Dish to no longer be able to use their DVR in the current form? I haven't really been following this...just saw a few headlines a few days ago.

It was for older models, not the one's being used currently. The 942 would be the most recent to be affected, the 622 and 722 are fine.

Don't know if anyone has noticed but at least for Fremont, 94536, the Comcast Web based TV Guide lists the following as of last Saturday:
736 SciFi HD
747 Food HD
752 TLC HD
759 CNN HD
862 APL HD
:D

I didn't think to check just before midnight, but I'm happy to report that I am watching Good Eats in HD right now in Fremont, CA (12:10am on 4/15)! They were showing a stretched Mercury ad when I tuned in, which had me worried, but Alton himself is coming in crystal clear.

SciFi HD is showing an Outer Limits rerun, upconverted and pillar-boxed (better than stretched). Scrolling through...

TLC HD is showing infomercials.

Animal Planet is showing up as 862 on my web TVplanner as well, but it's thankfully at 751 on my cable box. That would have been annoying.

Channel 759 shows no channel ID, and only "To Be Announced" for all programming, but it is indeed CNN HD. I'll pass by here again after Larry King is over. :D

All looks good.

I didn't think to check just before midnight, but I'm happy to report that I am watching Good Eats in HD right now in Fremont, CA (12:10am on 4/15)! They were showing a stretched Mercury ad when I tuned in, which had me worried, but Alton himself is coming in crystal clear.

SciFi HD is showing an Outer Limits rerun, upconverted and pillar-boxed (better than stretched). Scrolling through...

TLC HD is showing infomercials.

Animal Planet is showing up as 862 on my web TVplanner as well, but it's thankfully at 751 on my cable box. That would have been annoying.

Channel 759 shows no channel ID, and only "To Be Announced" for all programming, but it is indeed CNN HD. I'll pass by here again after Larry King is over. :D

All looks good.

same here, foodHD looks good! CNNhd and AMC is also up for me.

I'm in Sunnyvale, 94086, and I just checked as well...and I get what KernelG mentioned...except SciFi comes in as "Not Authorized"...and CNN HD is showing...but just has "To Be Announced" as well. Hope SciFi comes in before the next episode of BSG :)

Don't know if anyone has noticed but at least for Fremont, 94536, the Comcast Web based TV Guide lists the following as of last Saturday:
736 SciFi HD
747 Food HD
752 TLC HD
759 CNN HD
862 APL HD
:D

new channels i can see on tv/guide (in 95051):
736 SCIFI (Not Auth for me??? dunno if i've to call comcast CSR)
747 FOODD (awesome!!)
751 APHD
752 TLCHD
759 CNN HD (sux, 4:3)
769 AMC HD
hmm stange way to sneak these in like this...
would have thought some fanfare/marketing spiel from comcast was in order.

I am in a Sunnyvale Digital Rebuild area (94086) and my Tivo S3 is able to tune to the following channels now, although I have no guide data, even after I forced an update. I've just submitted a lineup issue to Tivo at http://tivosupport2.instancy.com/Lineupform.aspx and hope others will do the same.
736 SCIFIHD (looks like it's the East Coast feed, sweet, so BSG 3 hours earlier!)
747 FOODHD
751 APLHD
752 TLCHD
759 CNNHD
769 AMCHD

I am in a Sunnyvale Digital Rebuild area (94086) and my Tivo S3 is able to tune to the following channels now, although I have no guide data, even after I forced an update. I've just submitted a lineup issue to Tivo at http://tivosupport2.instancy.com/Lineupform.aspx and hope others will do the same.
736 SCIFIHD (looks like it's the East Coast feed, sweet, so BSG 3 hours earlier!)
747 FOODHD
751 APLHD
752 TLCHD
759 CNNHD
769 AMCHD

Same area, channels just went live, and watchable. Its 1AM PST. Woho :)

im happy to report i got the channels

Woo Hoo all 6 channels up and running in Rohnert Park. Food-HD Woo Hoo!!

Only getting 736 SCIFIHD with Limited Basic + Digital Classic. All the rest of new HD channels Not Authorized. If this doesn't change, it looks like Limited Basic + Digital Classic does not get all the HD channels anymore. I have all the older HD channels except for NFLNET and premiums.

95136 here, got the new channels this morning!

Got the channels here in San Ramon, but my S3 Tivo is not showing a listing for '769 AMCHD' (although the channel is there). Any other Tivo owners having the same issue?

all channels showing up in the Hayward rebuild area.

hating that KRON4 news is taped in HD, but CNN isn't :(

lovin' the new HD channels though!

The six new HD channels showed up in Vallejo. Didn't get to test them this morning but they are all on the guide.

Yup, all six channels are live in Union City. My Tivo guide however is listing the correct Animal Planet HD guide on channel 862 (no signal on this channel) when it should be on channel 751. Filed a support ticket with Tivo to correct this....I really hate those "To be announced" guides.

Happy to report all channels were added to my cable line
up last night here in 94010

New channels are on in San Jose 95125, no channel name info from either the cable cards nor Tivo's program guide yet.

I have the channels "listed" here in Martinez (94553) but because I have an "old package" I can't actually get them. Some say "One Moment Please" (SCIFIHD) and others "Not Authorized" (AMCHD). Of course I planned to call (which I shouldn't have to, I should be able to do it online) and change my package which won't make Comcast happy as I plan to cut my bill in half. But then I might actually purchase some OnDemand movies.

I think Comcast handles these things very poorly. They don't explain up front or send out messages to customers in advance. I guess they want to trick you into calling so they can sell you more crap. But half the time the CSRs and even an installer won't know what's going on (until they call the headend).

AMC is a premium channel yes? Pretty sure I don't get that with digital Classic.

For those with Limited + Classic, do you get TBS or TNT in HD? those are over channel 32+ right?

In general I think that if you don't get the standard version of the channel you won't get the HD version either (ie NFL) but who knows...

My upgrade happened overnight in Santa Rosa including all of the new channels. I wonder if they just waited for the 15th to turn things on, since a tech said it was pretty much ready to go about 2 weeks ago.

FYI, it was approximately 4 weeks from when they started doing work in my neighborhood before the upgrade happened.

I live in Palo Alto,

All HD channels are coming in fine except National Geograhics and Sci-Fi... anyone else?

AMC is a premium channel yes? Pretty sure I don't get that with digital Classic.

For those with Limited + Classic, do you get TBS or TNT in HD? those are over channel 32+ right?

In general I think that if you don't get the standard version of the channel you won't get the HD version either (ie NFL) but who knows...

It doesn't work that way according to my November bill where the channel lineups and tiers are given. If it did then I'd get Discovery HD because it is part of Limited Basic. I don't have Extended Basic but get TNT and TBS. I have the old "Digital Gold" package. I think how it works is that they group channels (apparently 3 now) into one analog channel. You are authorized by the analog channel space. That's why I suddenly lost USA-HD about a month back when they moved things around. They told me I wasn't supposed to get that and 3 other channels (that I still do) but those three are probably on channels I am authorized for under the old package.

Comcast has my email and of course can send message on their box. They've sent messages before about tier changes why don't they do it properly with this one? It seems to be a very poorly run company. (Do I hear a bunch of "duhs" echoing here.) :D

Poorly run is one way to describe Comcast.
While the prices continue to climb, Comcast customer service continues to get worse every single month.

AMC is a premium channel yes? Pretty sure I don't get that with digital Classic.

For those with Limited + Classic, do you get TBS or TNT in HD? those are over channel 32+ right?

In general I think that if you don't get the standard version of the channel you won't get the HD version either (ie NFL) but who knows...

I don't think it is. I have digital classic + standard cable (limited + expanded) package and AMCHD is coming in just fine.

New channels confirmed live in 94089 (Sunnyvale rebuild)!

Press Release about the new channels just added to the Bay Area

Comcast Adds More HD Choices in San Francisco Bay Area

SAN RAMON, Calif., April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast, the country's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services, is launching six new high-definition (HD) networks in the San Francisco Bay Area on April 15, the company announced today. The new channels will include: Sci-Fi HD, Food Network HD, Animal Planet HD, The Learning Channel (TLC) HD, CNN HD and AMC HD. The addition of the six channels is part of the commitment Comcast has made to offer more choice in high-definition content available to Comcast HD customers, along with more than 400 HD choices instantly available through Comcast ON DEMAND.

The new HD networks will launch on the Digital Starter HD service level in the vast majority of Bay Area communities* and will appear on the following channels: (*Not available in portions of Santa Rosa, Hayward, San Leandro, Sunnyvale, Los Gatos and Saratoga).

"With Comcast HD service, it's a matter of choice. We offer more HD programming than any other provider including 75 movies in HD and popular network shows available at any time," said Elaine Barden, vice president of product marketing for Comcast in California.

"We're providing more than 400 HD ON DEMAND choices, including 36 HD channels, and are quickly moving to our goal of having up to 1,000 HD choices available to our customers at any time. With HD channels, movies, sports and network choices available in HD ON DEMAND and the ability of our Comcast digital video recorders to record choices in super clear high-definition format, there is always something to watch in HD. The future of television is HD content available on the customer's schedule, and we're committed to delivering that to California," added Barden.

For more information about Comcast's HDTV service, customers can call 1-800-COMCAST or visit http://www.comcast.com.

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 24.1 million cable customers, 13.2 million high-speed Internet customers, and 4.6 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, 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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyone that is not getting these channels and are in the "fully upgraded" areas and have the proper channel package let me know.

Laters,
Mikef5

I am in a Sunnyvale Digital Rebuild area (94086) and my Tivo S3 is able to tune to the following channels now, although I have no guide data, even after I forced an update. I've just submitted a lineup issue to Tivo at http://tivosupport2.instancy.com/Lineupform.aspx and hope others will do the same.
736 SCIFIHD (looks like it's the East Coast feed, sweet, so BSG 3 hours earlier!)
747 FOODHD
751 APLHD
752 TLCHD
759 CNNHD
769 AMCHD

Noticed the same thing on my TivoHD and I sent a lineup correction to Tivo also but at least the channels are there and I can view them, just need the guide updated :rolleyes:

Laters,
Mikef5

I didn't think to check just before midnight, but I'm happy to report that I am watching Good Eats in HD right now in Fremont, CA (12:10am on 4/15)!

I checked at 11:58pm and all the channel streams where there and reporting NOT AUTHORIZED, both on my TiVo-HD and DCT. I was playing in the cable card screen at 12:00am and noticed the channel went subscribed. I then went back to live TV and there they were.

So they turned them on exactly at midnight in Fremont. Good work Comcast!

With the 3 into 1 256QAM mux all the channels had to be in the cable and just auth was needed.

I think how it works is that they group channels (apparently 3 now) into one analog channel. You are authorized by the analog channel space.
If you are seeing authorization by analog channel space it is by coincidence. There are no technical reasons and they can't authorize individual channels that may share bandwidth. The authorization mechanism is not dependent on how the channels are organized in the frequency spectrum.

For example, AETV, HGTV, and Starz share the same channel. Not everyone is authorized for Starz.

With the 3 into 1 256QAM mux all the channels had to be in the cable and just auth was needed.
In my area, the channels were there for weeks. They just didn't update the channel maps and auth so they didn't show up under normal viewing.

Thanks but that was really only speculation on my part. The Digital Starter package is pretty expensive $80 just to get Sci-Fi HD. Time to get active in the ala carte movement and cable regulation movement.

Don't know if anyone has noticed but at least for Fremont, 94536, the Comcast Web based TV Guide lists the following as of last Saturday:
736 SciFi HD
747 Food HD
752 TLC HD
759 CNN HD
862 APL HD
:D

Great News!! Im In Fremont, 94538 & I've been waiting for SciFi HD Forever.
Any news on AMC HD here too?

Now we just need to get *real* HD content on those HD channels. Full HD is best, but trans-rated HD is better than trans-rated upconverted SD.

Great News!! Im In Fremont, 94538 & I've been waiting for SciFi HD Forever.
Any news on AMC HD here too?

Does anybody know when BSG will be on
SCI-FI HD this week??

Does anybody know when BSG will be on
SCI-FI HD this week??

Friday, 7/10 E/P

What feed are you getting for SciFi? E or W? I didn't realize there was 2 feeds, but the SciFi site shows different schedules for each.

Looks like eastern feed for SciFi and some others as well.

Then BG will be on at 7pm.

I'm pretty sure there's only one SciFi feed, at least for the HD channel.

Friday, 7/10 E/P

What feed are you getting for SciFi? E or W? I didn't realize there was 2 feeds, but the SciFi site shows different schedules for each.
Here is Sacramento, we've had the channel for a couple of weeks and it is the eastern feed not western.

Here is Sacramento, we've had the channel for a couple of weeks and it is the eastern feed not western.

Yes, I'm 99% positive there's only one HD feed.

Yes, I'm 99% positive there's only one HD feed.

Yep. Screwed me up the first night I wanted to watch something live :eek:. I knew there was a reason I have 2 DVRs.

Kind of a problem if anyone can help me out real quick...

I live in Palo Alto and have digital starter. I'm not receiving Sci-FI HD...

I talked to the online rep and they claim it is excluded from digital starter, and it's only part of digital "preferred"... can anyone confirm this? It just seems weird that the only new channel I care about is blocked from me.

The Comcast press release says The new HD networks will launch on the Digital Starter HD service level in the vast majority of Bay Area communities*

Kind of a problem if anyone can help me out real quick...

I live in Palo Alto and have digital starter. I'm not receiving Sci-FI HD...

I talked to the online rep and they claim it is excluded from digital starter, and it's only part of digital "preferred"... can anyone confirm this? It just seems weird that the only new channel I care about is blocked from me.

The Comcast press release says

I think there is something wrong with the channel right now. I was watching it fine this morning, but when I got home it has been saying "not authorized" for me. The regular Sci-Fi works fine for me however. I also have preferred though, so this may not be your case.

OK, we got the upgrade. Animal Planet and TLCHD are cruising along at 10mbps :\

Mike, could you check if someone could confirm if 'Limited Basic + Digital Classic' package supposed to get these channels? I am pretty sure most CSRs won't have much idea. My bill is already $80 (with $43 internet)... till now didn't bother much to find out about other packages.

Nice...

...for 480p material.

I remember when FOX tried to pull something cheap like this.. delivering low quality video to people calling it "HD". People complained so much, they had to re-invest in all new equipment all over again.

OK, we got the upgrade. Animal Planet and TLCHD are cruising along at 10mbps :\

Mike, could you check if someone could confirm if 'Limited Basic + Digital Classic' package supposed to get these channels? I am pretty sure most CSRs won't have much idea. My bill is already $80 (with $43 internet)... till now didn't bother much to find out about other packages.
Seems to me the "One Moment Please" channels might be part of Digital Classic and the "Not Authorized" be on Digital Starter. The press release may be flubbed but then this is Comcast we're talking about. :D I'll have to see if the web site has up to date information (dubious). :D:D:D

OK, we got the upgrade. Animal Planet and TLCHD are cruising along at 10mbps :\

which other channels are bandwidth starved?? i remember watching HDT yesterday and saying... wow it doesn't look as good as it used to....

I just checked their website and the "packages" section lists Digital Starter (in my area) at $59 ongoing which I suspect would be the price if you're already a subscriber. That's their lowest price package. I don't know if one can still order just Digital Classic + Limited Basic and what that would include. The last price list (Nov) would $39 + HD box fee. They tend to push the packages and not the breakdowns on the web site. I do see you can order online now.

I have the same package (Belmont), and the only new HD channel I get is SCI-FI HD. All the other ones are not authorized.

Mike, could you check if someone could confirm if 'Limited Basic + Digital Classic' package supposed to get these channels? I am pretty sure most CSRs won't have much idea. My bill is already $80 (with $43 internet)... till now didn't bother much to find out about other packages.

I've been getting "One Moment Please" for going on 5 years now up here in Santa Rosa...

What is the difference between digital starter and digital classic?

My bill shows:
Digital Starter Package 56.99
Includes: Standard Cable (Limited Basic
and Expanded Basic), Limited On
Demand, Digital Converter and Remote,
if applicable.

which other channels are bandwidth starved?? i remember watching HDT yesterday and saying... wow it doesn't look as good as it used to....

Curious, too, I've been getting dropouts on KTVU HD (702) for the past couple of weeks. They last 3 seconds and are usually 10 seconds apart from each other, always in pairs, and can happen every 2-15 minutes. The pairs thing is interesting, no? Recordings even play back the same way. If this is part of the overall new packaging/bunching, it's not very Comcastic.

Got the new HD channels in my upgraded area 95401. :D Still get "Not Authorized" for SciFi HD and National Geographic HD. :mad: I get Standard Cable which includes Limited Basic and Expanded Basic and HBO/Cinemax HD. I should be getting SciFi and NG HD right Mikef5?

OK, we got the upgrade. Animal Planet and TLCHD are cruising along at 10mbps :\

Aren't you in Sunnyvale like me? What part? I checked this morning and no upgrade yet for my area.

Got the new HD channels in my upgraded area 95401. :D Still get "Not Authorized" for SciFi HD and National Geographic HD. :mad: I get Standard Cable which includes Limited Basic and Expanded Basic and HBO/Cinemax HD. I should be getting SciFi and NG HD right Mikef5?
No, National Geographic is not part of any Basic package (it's part of Preferred and higher IIRC). NGHD is not a new channel--it's been there for months.

SciFi HD is coming through as "not authorized" for me, too, last I checked. I think it's just a temporary problem, since the program guide data is there.

I'm now getting the not authorized on the Sci-Fi channel. It was working just finer earlier today. I have the Platinum package so it's a bigger problem than Basic....

No, National Geographic is not part of any Basic package (it's part of Preferred and higher IIRC). NGHD is not a new channel--it's been there for months.

SciFi HD is coming through as "not authorized" for me, too, last I checked. I think it's just a temporary problem, since the program guide data is there.

Thanks a ton for that info.

Was getting SCI-FI HD this morning. Now, "Not Authorized," although all of the other new channels are working. I have the platinum/premiere/whatever they call it package with most everything on it.

Digital Starter includes expanded basic.

Digital Classic does not.

I don't want to say it is consistent across the Bay Area, but I've been told for many, the bulk of what used to be in Digital Classic HD got moved into Digital Starter HD. I believe this was to align the HD channels closer with the SD counterparts so folks who got digital classic (but not expanded basic) didn't magically get the HD versions of expanded basic channels they chose not to purchase.

NGC HD I believe is still in Digital Classic.

I'm now getting the not authorized on the Sci-Fi channel. It was working just finer earlier today. I have the Platinum package so it's a bigger problem than Basic....

It's the folks here in Santa Rosa, with our total of 11 HD channels, blocking the signal with a massive satellite array aimed at Comcast. :p

We're holding the signal hostage until our demands are met. :D

Seriously though, what a pathetically piss-poor showing by Comcast in this area, one has to wonder if they've ceded the bulk of Santa Rosa to DBS.

but, 98% of Comcast will be upgraded by 20xx

:D

Was getting Sci-Fi HD(as well as all other new HD channels) as of last night(after 12am). It's not coming in now. I called Comcast and they did confirm that they are experiencing a system-wide problem with just Sci-Fi HD in the Bay Area. No estimate on when it will be back up.

Oddly, I am once again experiencing problems with UHD(739). This is after I had a technician come out and fix the problem, which seemed to be due to the fact that I was on the incorrect line-up/server/something for my location. They changed some info on my account and sent hits to my tivohd. The channel started working after that. At some point between then and now, it stopped working again. They are going to try and send another hit to my box to see if that fixes it again.

Was getting SCI-FI HD this morning. Now, "Not Authorized," although all of the other new channels are working. I have the platinum/premiere/whatever they call it package with most everything on it.

It must vary by area, since SciFi HD is coming in fine here now.

but, 98% of Comcast will be upgraded by 20xx

:D

You sure? I heard it would be 3009 here in Santa Rosa. :rolleyes::D

NGC HD I believe is still in Digital Classic.
Probably, but at least here, you can no longer get the "Digital Classic" package for new customers or customers wanting to change their package.

At least, that's what they told me when I moved--that I could no longer have the Classic package I'd been subscribed to for over 2 years. I lost BBC America, National Geographic, and the Science channel (and a few others) as a result, because I wasn't willing to pay an extra $32/mo. for the "Preferred" package instead of "Starter".

I really wish they'd bring Digital Classic back to the South Bay/Peninsula.

Getting everything except for Sci-FI "Not Authorized".

Has anyone figured out whazup with SciFi?

Same "Not Authorized" Sci-Fi HD problem in Vallejo. I called comcast and after several unsuccessful reset hits to our DVRs, the rep finally stated that this was a problem in my area and that other customers had similar problems with some of the other new HD channels. CC hopes to address the problems at the head ends tonight.

I have the "Limited Basic + Digital Preferred" in Pleasanton, getting Sci-Fi HD but everything else new (CNN-HD, TLC-HD, AMC-HD...etc) are "Not Authorized".

OK, now that im off work. This is the new lineup for: Fremont 94538

736 SciFi HD
747 Food-HD
751 APL-HD
752 TLC-HD
759 CNN-HD
769 AMC-HD

Digital Starter includes expanded basic.

Digital Classic does not.

I don't want to say it is consistent across the Bay Area, but I've been told for many, the bulk of what used to be in Digital Classic HD got moved into Digital Starter HD. I believe this was to align the HD channels closer with the SD counterparts so folks who got digital classic (but not expanded basic) didn't magically get the HD versions of expanded basic channels they chose not to purchase.

NGC HD I believe is still in Digital Classic.

I can confirm NGC HD is not in digital starter...

So if digital classic does not get expanded basic, does that mean they have less channels than digital starter? But for some reason they get NGC HD? :confused:

It's the folks here in Santa Rosa, with our total of 11 HD channels, blocking the signal with a massive satellite array aimed at Comcast. :p

We're holding the signal hostage until our demands are met. :D

Seriously though, what a pathetically piss-poor showing by Comcast in this area, one has to wonder if they've ceded the bulk of Santa Rosa to DBS.

San Lorenzo is in the same boat as you or perhaps worse. We only have nine HD channels and we don't even get a mention in the Comcast press release. I think they lump our town in with Hayward, but who knows. I have a feeling Comcast is not serious about competing for business in my area. DBS is well entrenched here and now AT&T is getting ready to take aim.

Scifi HD is not working here either, but the other 5 new HD channels are. And for the first time ever, the guide data came thru on schedule.
Interestingly, for Scifi HD, no guide data is showing up on the tivo, but via tivoweb+, there are two entries for channel 736, one without any data, and one with all the proper guide data.
So it looks like a channel mapping problem for Scifi HD I think.

Mountain View 94010 all new channels working fine tonight.

San Lorenzo is in the same boat as you or perhaps worse. We only have nine HD channels and we don't even get a mention in the Comcast press release. I think they lump our town in with Hayward, but who knows. I have a feeling Comcast is not serious about competing for business in my area. DBS is well entrenched here and now AT&T is getting ready to take aim.

I feel for you, it's like our areas are just not important enough, thank the stars for satellite providers.

Curious, too, I've been getting dropouts on KTVU HD (702) for the past couple of weeks. They last 3 seconds and are usually 10 seconds apart from each other, always in pairs, and can happen every 2-15 minutes. The pairs thing is interesting, no? Recordings even play back the same way. If this is part of the overall new packaging/bunching, it's not very Comcastic.

THANK YOU for saying that, I never got around to it. It's been doing the exact same thing for me as well. I was worried it was my TiVo, at least I know it's happening to others!

Also, no SCIFI HD for me right now, either.

94523 Pleasant Hill

Is anyone with Tivo (S3 or HD) not getting APLHD in their guide? If I manually go to the channel, I get the programming. But nothing in the guide. All of the other new channels are showing up fine (with the exception of SCIFI, of course).

OK. We got the new HD channels today in the 94509 area (Antioch). I can't believe that AMC does not present widescreen movies in widescreen aspect ratio on their HD channel. I remember when AMC used to be good. At one time they were commercial free and broadcast movies in their original aspect ratio. Then all of a sudden they went to 100% full screen and with commercials. At that time I quit watching AMC and it appears that I will not be watching the AMC HD channel either. I would rather have seen Comcast pick up the Turner Classic Movie channel in HD (if in fact TCM has an HD channel). Otherwise I am somewhat appreciative of the other new HD channels.

I feel for you, it's like our areas are just not important enough, thank the stars for satellite providers.

There are "only" 156,200 people in Santa Rosa. You wouldn't expect them to care about one of the bigger cities in the Bay Area.

My friend got a postcard that he would be upgraded in 3 weeks, but that was about 4 weeks ago. I'm beginning to think that some of the postcards and door hangers are just to try to keep us quiet.

Digital Starter includes expanded basic.

Digital Classic does not.

I don't want to say it is consistent across the Bay Area, but I've been told for many, the bulk of what used to be in Digital Classic HD got moved into Digital Starter HD. I believe this was to align the HD channels closer with the SD counterparts so folks who got digital classic (but not expanded basic) didn't magically get the HD versions of expanded basic channels they chose not to purchase.

NGC HD I believe is still in Digital Classic.

This is mostly whats happening. It would be much better if Comcast was clear on this either on the web or in some other way.

They should really move NGC to Digital Starter some how.

There are "only" 156,200 people in Santa Rosa. You wouldn't expect them to care about one of the bigger cities in the Bay Area.

My friend got a postcard that he would be upgraded in 3 weeks, but that was about 4 weeks ago. I'm beginning to think that some of the postcards and door hangers are just to try to keep us quiet.
Last time I looked at the FCC site that shows the data for cable companies, Santa Rosa had at least 68,000 Comcast subs, less than the total pop for sure, but 68K is heck of a lot of subs, more than many cities in the bay area.

Frankly, at this point in time, Comcast's relevancy in my household has diminished to next to nothing(basically internet service). As soon as Sonic gets going, Comcast may just be out the door completely.

I'm still peeved they took away SHO-HD years ago..

You sure? I heard it would be 3009 here in Santa Rosa. :rolleyes::D

saw in the PD last week, lot of residents are not happy about the HUGE REFRIDGERATOR SIZED boxes that AT&T is installing on their curbs for Uverse... :(

anyway, getting all the new HD channels here except Skiffy (not authorized). like everyone else I guess.

PQ looks ok on all channels from what I briefly saw.

AMC, at least, appears to be on the east coast feed, so the programming is different than the SD channel (west coast feed). like most channels I guess...

I need the same info. this morning SCI_FI was working, now it's not and I don't get any of the new channels either (like raghu, I have Ltd Basic+Digital Classic) -- I'm in Belmont.

Mike, could you check if someone could confirm if 'Limited Basic + Digital Classic' package supposed to get these channels? I am pretty sure most CSRs won't have much idea. My bill is already $80 (with $43 internet)... till now didn't bother much to find out about other packages.

What happened to the Sharks game? I don't see it on. I might be blind..

The Sharks game is on the Comcast Sports SD channel only (40 on Comcast), even though there's nothing on the HD channel tonight. The PQ is horrible.

Yea I found it on 40 even though this from the Sharks website:

Comcast SportsNet: Comcast 40 (720 HD), DirecTV 655 (654-1 HD), Dish Ntwk 449

The feed was upsampled SD and/or crummy cameras last game, but tonight the SD feed on 40 is just atrocious. I say Blame Canada!! haha :)

I can confirm NGC HD is not in digital starter...

So if digital classic does not get expanded basic, does that mean they have less channels than digital starter? But for some reason they get NGC HD? :confused:
It's not that digital classic does not "get" expanded basic. Digital classic does not "include" expanded basic. So if you get Digital Classic and you want expanded basic channels like ESPN, TNT, etc., you have to order it separately.

There was kind of odd situation before where you could order limited basic and digital classic, bypassing expanded basic, and you would have the HD versions of ESPN, TNT, etc. In general (but not always) Comcast tries to follow the notion that if you get the SD version, you get the HD version of a channel.

Moving the bulk of what was previously in Digital Classic to Digital Starter achieves this, because Digital Starter includes expanded basic.

I think there are only a couple of (or just one) HD channels left in Digital Classic (plus a bunch of digital SD channels) NGC-HD I think is the only HD channel left in Digital Classic.

Keep in mind this may not be entirely consistent across the Bay Area because there are various old plans out there.

I have the "Limited Basic + Digital Preferred" in Pleasanton, getting Sci-Fi HD but everything else new (CNN-HD, TLC-HD, AMC-HD...etc) are "Not Authorized".
Do you get NGC-HD?

Is anyone with Tivo (S3 or HD) not getting APLHD in their guide? If I manually go to the channel, I get the programming. But nothing in the guide. All of the other new channels are showing up fine (with the exception of SCIFI, of course).
Someone will complain to tribune and it will show up eventually.

Before I checked over here, I opened a support chat on the Comcast site regarding the disappearance of SciFi-HD (which was working when I checked this morning--Mill Valley 94941). Comcast's Mark Z quickly decided he needed to "hit" my cable box . . . even though the problem was also manifesting on my cablecard TV. Because it isn't that important to me now--at least until BSG time this weekend--I had to laugh at this interchange.

Thomas_(Tue Apr 15 20:14:26 PDT 2008)>While you were working on this, I checked on the internet forums. It seems that the SciFi-HD outage is happening in many places in the SF Bay Area. So I appreciate your help, and hope that the "hit" fixes the problem--it seems unlikely.

Mark(Tue Apr 15 23:15:20 PDT 2008)>Thomas, please come back to visit us & we'll be very happy to assist you further. Simply chat with one of our Online Customer Support Specialists 24 hour a day, 7 days a week at http://www.comcastsupport.com/chatwithus/userchatstartcom.asp

Mark(Tue Apr 15 23:15:30 PDT 2008)>Bye for now.

Mark(Tue Apr 15 23:15:34 PDT 2008)>Analyst has closed chat and left the room

analyst Mark has left room

Is anyone with Tivo (S3 or HD) not getting APLHD in their guide? If I manually go to the channel, I get the programming. But nothing in the guide. All of the other new channels are showing up fine (with the exception of SCIFI, of course).

Yep, I get guide data as of a few days ago, on my TiVo S3. AMC-HD just appeared this morning. Try forcing a network connection and see if it picks up the updated lineup.

Same as most here - Larkfield area has the new channels, but SciFi HD is coming through as not authorized. When I press info to learn how to order this channel (as it asks me to do), all I get is the guide info for the current show. Standard def SciFi is coming through fine - so I assume if I'm authorized for one I should get the HD version.

I hope it's fixed soon!

-Dave

My upgrade happened overnight in Santa Rosa including all of the new channels. I wonder if they just waited for the 15th to turn things on, since a tech said it was pretty much ready to go about 2 weeks ago.

FYI, it was approximately 4 weeks from when they started doing work in my neighborhood before the upgrade happened.

Thanks for this info. They supposedly started working in my neighborhood last week. I better be careful or I might start to get optimistic.

My new "rebuild" channels finally showed up on Friday evening (April 12th), so after years of suffering, I finally have a nice set of HD channels! I was looking forward to today and receiving the additional new channels (especially SciFi for BSG), but none of the channels tune at all.

When I try to tune 736 SciFi (on my TiVo HD), all I get is a grey screen with "To Be Announced" in the channel banner. I don't get a "not authorized" or any other such message.

I just called Comcast and they (of course) "hit" my cablecard, but it's still not working.

Is anybody else in the Sunnyvale 94087 rebuild area getting the new channels? Comcast said I should call TiVo. Hmmm......somehow, I don't think TiVo can solve this....

Ideas?

Bob

Aren't you in Sunnyvale like me? What part? I checked this morning and no upgrade yet for my area.

Upgraded area near Wolfe and Old San Francisco.

The truth is our channel will now look like crap, 3 per QAM will not cut it for MPEG2 :\

The Sharks game is on the Comcast Sports SD channel only (40 on Comcast), even though there's nothing on the HD channel tonight. The PQ is horrible.

Comcast doesn't do Sharks road games in HD because they don't have an HD truck to bring with them. (It's why I have Starchoice, a Canadian DBS, to supplement my Comcast, but as you'll see below, it didn't help much)

I watched most of the game on Starchoice on CBC-HD and just like last game, their PQ was atrocious. I don't even think it was HD, I think it was 16:9 SD. I've seen much better PQ on other hockey games on CBC-HD. I think they only have one HD truck and it's with the Boston-Montreal series (or maybe Pittsburgh-Ottawa).

Out of superstition, I turned off the projector and Starchoice and watched the last 5 minutes of the game on Comcast in SD. It was WELL worth it. :)

I went nuts on the Cheechoo tying goal, but ballistic on the Thornton goal to win it with 8 seconds left. I screamed like crazy, jumped out of my seat, and fell to me knees in pure joy. I felt like I was going to cry I was that happy. My wife thinks our neighbors below were banging on the ceiling to get me to shut up. I was only loud and annoying for about 30 seconds - 1 minute, but I think we all should be allowed some latitude.

Well worth it, even in SD. :D

Talked to my buddy who works as CSR at one of the call centers and he said it was definitely a channel mapping issue with sci-fi Hd. They received a bunch of calls regarding the issue and sending a "hit" to the box or card didn't fix the problem in most cases. I have the premier package and I'm still getting "not auth" on 736 here in San Ramon. They were even getting the "not auth" msg on the HD boxes at the call center.He says that their Addressability dept. is aware of the issue and is working on a fix. Hopefully by tomorrow we'll see that channel up and running.

Just remember folks, if SD scf fi is part of your cable package then you should be getting the HD version as well. If it isn't, then the "not auth" msg will continue to appear even once the problem with that channel is resolved. I mention this because SD sci fi is part of the dig classic package in many parts of the bay area. So just having the Starter package and HD service won't cut it when it comes to Sci Fi HD in most cases

Here in Mtn. View 94043 I get SciFi HD just fine.

However, I'm watching Law and Order on TNTHD right now and BOY are there a lot of artifacts and odd color blobs. I hope this is just a bad night or something....

However, I'm watching Law and Order on TNTHD right now and BOY are there a lot of artifacts and odd color blobs. I hope this is just a bad night or something....
Don't know the cause of what you are seeing, but for clarification, it isn't 3-pak. TNT/ESPN is a 2-pak (at least it is for my area) and more importantly it is getting a mostly 18Mbps feed which indicates it isn't one of the trans-rated versions.

I feel for you, it's like our areas are just not important enough, thank the stars for satellite providers.

Add santa cruz to the "not important enough list" for comcast.

My recent switch to DBS has not been the silver bullet(have to get locals in HD via ota, and a two year commitment) but they at least have parity in how they charge and what HD everyone receives. Also the rumors are true-the VIP 722 has been VERY impressive. Way less buggy (after 4 days) than even my TivoHD. Comcast should be embarrassed that they let valued customers pay for that motto box.

As far as picture quality: IMHO and to my untrained eye the Dish HD is every bit as good as Comcast. I have not looked at all 43 HD channels (big smile) for long periods but so far I am happy and saving money.

I would have stayed with comcast if I could get those six new channels, or even if they could have given me a reasonable date for when they would be available...oh well...

Well worth it, even in SD. :D

Yup! The Sharks game would have been worth it if the image was stick figure drawings onscreen:D

Sci-Fi Hd still coming up as "Not Authorized" in Vallejo this morning.

My Sci-Fi HD is back on sometime within the past hour in Vacaville.

Sci-Fi is back up in Rohnert Park

Sci-Fi is back up in Rohnert Park

Same here in Walnut Creek

Just remember folks, if SD scf fi is part of your cable package then you should be getting the HD version as well. If it isn't, then the "not auth" msg will continue to appear even once the problem with that channel is resolved. I mention this because SD sci fi is part of the dig classic package in many parts of the bay area. So just having the Starter package and HD service won't cut it when it comes to Sci Fi HD in most cases
With an "old" package like I have I do get the SD sci-fi but not the HD version. I get the "One Moment Please" message instead and the "Not Authorized" message on the other new channels. What "ConnedCast" has effectively done was an end run around rate regulation. They've raised rates on most users with out notice since apparently as people have said I can no longer just get "Limited Basic + Digital Classic." IOW, a "shell game."

it's a system wide problem... give them some time to sort it out.

as long as it's up by 7pm on Friday I'll be happy. (Battle of the Galactic Stars '08)

also I wonder if they are going to add the HD versions of episodes 1 and 2 to VOD? they have the SD versions up on there... it would be nice since we missed them.. HINT HINT

I have that package combo (limited basic + digital classic) in Belmont and get NGC-HD -- however I do not get any of the 6 new HD (I briefly received SCI-FI HD, but no longer do).

Do you get NGC-HD?

With an "old" package like I have I do get the SD sci-fi but not the HD version. I get the "One Moment Please" message instead and the "Not Authorized" message on the other new channels. What "ConnedCast" has effectively done was an end run around rate regulation. They've raised rates on most users with out notice since apparently as people have said I can no longer just get "Limited Basic + Digital Classic." IOW, a "shell game."
Are you missing any channels based on what was available when your old package went out of vogue? There is (or used to be) some "HD track" that made sure the channels you used to get stay on your system.

Getting new channels that weren't previously available is hit or miss on the old accounts.

I have that package combo (limited basic + digital classic) in Belmont and get NGC-HD -- however I do not get any of the 6 new HD (I briefly received SCI-FI HD, but no longer do).
I think people with Limited Basic + Digital Classic will in most cases need to decide whether they want to pay for Digital Starter (including expanded basic) to get the new channels.

I have that package combo (limited basic + digital classic) in Belmont and get NGC-HD -- however I do not get any of the 6 new HD (I briefly received SCI-FI HD, but no longer do).

If you receive Sci-Fi in SD, then you should be getting HD version (according new unofficial policy that sfhub mentioned, may be it is too reasonable for Comcast to be official :) ). For me Sci-Fi is listed under Digital Classic Ch 160 but my cable box shows it at ch 73, that I don't get.

Raghu,

My situation is exactly like yours, I have Sci-Fi listed on Ch. 160 (in the a comcast letter I got a few months ago), but that channel doesn't exist in my Tivo lineup.

If you receive Sci-Fi in SD, then you should be getting HD version (according new unofficial policy that sfhub mentioned, may be it is too reasonable for Comcast to be official :) ). For me Sci-Fi is listed under Digital Classic Ch 160 but my cable box shows it at ch 73, that I don't get.

I have Sci-Fi HD under channel 160 too but I have the old "Digital Gold" package. I've discussed this situation twice before once when they added the channels last fall including Discovery HD which of the 4 they added was the only one I didn't get. The CSR sent out a technician so they could figure out what was wrong. It was only when he called the headend that they told him I had the old package and could switch to the new one at the same price but would get Starz instead of Showtime. I was way into to Dexter and Brotherhood at the time and really was only curious as to why Discovery HD wasn't coming in. After all Discovery HD is part of Limited Basic!

Then when they were moving things around last month I suddenly lost USAHD. Again the CSR wanted to send out a technician and I said "just call the headend" and they confirmed I wasn't supposed to get ANY of the 4 channels added in the fall (but I still get 2 of them).

Whatever the situation is it needs to be spelled out clearly. I wouldn't mind changing packages but at this point I no longer trust getting a clear story out of Comcast. We applied the term "keystone cops" to the Grand Alliance as they stumbled through the implementation of ATSC in the US and I would say the same could be applied to Comcast. I also want to reduce my "entertainment budget" because in a time of recession it is way out of control and I know from reading the AVS Forum I'm not the only one. :)

Also sounds like Comcast is going to learn that geeks probably don't care whether they get A&E or Home Gardening but will raise hell if they don't get their SCIHD! :D

So right now I just tried 3 channels = SciFi HD, TNT HD, and USA HD. All 3 are showing horrible framerate issues. They're unwatchable. I wonder if it's my equipment or if this is the price we're paying or more channels?

SciFi back up in Pleasant Hill

What equipment? if it's a comcast box try unplugging it. I've also had luck going into the user menu and changing the output from 1080i to 720p and then back again. some kind of HDMI sync issue... or I don't know...

Otherwise it could be signal levels..

As for Scifi, on some systems it used to be analog ch 73 (I think) but was moved to digital 160. maybe some systems still have it on analog... We never did here, we didn't get Skiffy PERIOD until they it appeared on digital 160. I missed the last couple years of MST3k :(

What equipment?

Comcast 3412.

Yeah, if it's a stuttering problem, like it looks as if it's dropping frames, try the 1080i-720 trick. If that doesn't work, unplug and reboot.. you'll lose all your guide data though, it will take 10-15mins to come back.

So right now I just tried 3 channels = SciFi HD, TNT HD, and USA HD. All 3 are showing horrible framerate issues. They're unwatchable. I wonder if it's my equipment or if this is the price we're paying or more channels?
It's something specific to your situation (equipment, head-end, wiring, etc.) I tried all 3 and they are fine for me.

SciFI-HD remains untuneable here via my tivo.
Have digital classic + standard cable for what it's worth.

via tivoweb+, there are two entries for channel 736, one without any data, and one with all the proper guide data....
SciFI-HD remains untuneable here via my tivo.So I reported my channel lineup problem to tivo, and they came back with the rather unhelpful "This channel was added to our guide information yesterday, so if it has not done so yet, your TiVo will download this information in the next 24 to 72 hours. However, if you are still not seeing the video for this channel, you will need to contact your cable provider." Now I'd already loaded the updated guide data into my tivo a half a dozen times since 4/15, so I know still waiting for the download I already have won't fix things. Basically tivo just told me to pound sand.

If I contact comcast I'm sure they'd just send out a hit to my box and then say there must be a tivo issue when it didn't change anything.

So I went into my tivo's MFS database and deleted the bad copy of channel 736, leaving the good one. This fixed things and now I can tune 736 just fine and I have the guide data as well.

If anyone wants a copy of the TCL script I used to delete the bad channel 736 let me know.

Sci-fi is on now in Pothole-uma

so I'm being super critical of picture quality and I don't see anything terrible.

EXCEPT, I'm watching "The Replacements" on TNT and there are awful compression artifacts in some scenes. then during the commercial there was a HD preview of NBA and it was stuttering AND full of artifacts.

but now with a different scene of the movie, it looks ok, nothing bad at all. though it's a darker, indoor scene. I hope it was just some problem with the source.

Any update on rebuild in Sunnyvale 94087, Mary/Blair area? The last mailer I received said March 20 - April 20. I am hoping to wake up one morning and it will have happened, but as it gets closer to the 20th I grow more skeptical.

It does seem though that Comcast HSI is working better than ever, I didn't think I would ever say that.

so I'm being super critical of picture quality and I don't see anything terrible.

EXCEPT, I'm watching "The Replacements" on TNT and there are awful compression artifacts in some scenes. then during the commercial there was a HD preview of NBA and it was stuttering AND full of artifacts.

but now with a different scene of the movie, it looks ok, nothing bad at all. though it's a darker, indoor scene. I hope it was just some problem with the source.

AND now it's back to the outdoor (football) scene and looks TERRIBLE.

pics up in a minute...

http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee151/walk2k/DSC00028.jpg
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee151/walk2k/DSC00029.jpg

http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee151/walk2k/DSC00030.jpg
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee151/walk2k/DSC00031.jpg

http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee151/walk2k/DSC00032.jpg
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee151/walk2k/DSC00033.jpg


if this is the future of Comcast HD, you can count me OUT.

this is the worst of the worst though, most everything else looks okay...

Anybody else have 703 (NBC) and 712 (CW) in each other's positions? It may have happened when the new channels were turned on; they were correct on Monday, but the next time I checked was on Wednesday night, and they were switched.

-- Don

Aaaand I can confirm the 3 to 1 QAM, lower PQ is happening now w/the new channel adds here..

My girlfriend has been complaining about it now with each show/natl hd channel she watches.. "Why is Law and Order so grainy, it looks terrible" etc. Wow, I am very disappointed.

wow HDT looks like CRAP. it used to be reference quality.

Any update on rebuild in Sunnyvale 94087, Mary/Blair area? The last mailer I received said March 20 - April 20. I am hoping to wake up one morning and it will have happened, but as it gets closer to the 20th I grow more skeptical.

It does seem though that Comcast HSI is working better than ever, I didn't think I would ever say that.
Last notice/flyer/doorhanger I received in the Remington/Hollenbeck area said Apr. 15 - May 10. So you might be included in our area, but just didn't get the updated notice.

wow HDT looks like CRAP. it used to be reference quality.
You guys are getting me depressed. I don't know what's better. Having very few channels in HD or having a bunch that look like crap! LOL

I have Sci-Fi HD under channel 160 too but I have the old "Digital Gold" package. I've discussed this situation twice before once when they added the channels last fall including Discovery HD which of the 4 they added was the only one I didn't get. The CSR sent out a technician so they could figure out what was wrong. It was only when he called the headend that they told him I had the old package and could switch to the new one at the same price but would get Starz instead of Showtime. I was way into to Dexter and Brotherhood at the time and really was only curious as to why Discovery HD wasn't coming in. After all Discovery HD is part of Limited Basic!

Then when they were moving things around last month I suddenly lost USAHD. Again the CSR wanted to send out a technician and I said "just call the headend" and they confirmed I wasn't supposed to get ANY of the 4 channels added in the fall (but I still get 2 of them).

Whatever the situation is it needs to be spelled out clearly. I wouldn't mind changing packages but at this point I no longer trust getting a clear story out of Comcast. We applied the term "keystone cops" to the Grand Alliance as they stumbled through the implementation of ATSC in the US and I would say the same could be applied to Comcast. I also want to reduce my "entertainment budget" because in a time of recession it is way out of control and I know from reading the AVS Forum I'm not the only one. :)

Also sounds like Comcast is going to learn that geeks probably don't care whether they get A&E or Home Gardening but will raise hell if they don't get their SCIHD! :D

Come on now, this is Comcast, the masters of confusion. Got a door flyer the other day, and on the English language side it says work to start "within the next 2 day", on the Spanish side it says "dentro de las proximas 36 horas", basically 36 hrs....mmmm...I guess they have two different schedules depending on what your native language is...and this is on 2 sides of the same piece of paper, so, I wouldn't ever expect anything to be clear and concise from Comcast if they have trouble getting a simple flyer to say the same thing on both sides. :D

Last notice/flyer/doorhanger I received in the Remington/Hollenbeck area said Apr. 15 - May 10. So you might be included in our area, but just didn't get the updated notice.

I'll go out on a limb and say that we in 94087 around Las Palmas Park may be upgraded very soon. This morning, my cable modem has switched to 705 MHz download carrier frequency. It was at 549 MHz before. SNR is 35 dB, a couple of dB less than before.

Nothing has changed in the TV channels, though. No new channel added, and the existing HD channels have not moved.

Sunnyvale 94087 at Sunnyvale-Saratoga & Remington is UPGRADED as of this morning! :D:D:D

My TivoHD did not recognize the new channels so I went to channel line-up and pressed "Enter". Ran the setup for the new channel lineup and we're downloading program info now! Rock!

JD

You guys are getting me depressed. I don't know what's better. Having very few channels in HD or having a bunch that look like crap! LOL

this is america. we should be able to buy both.

Out of superstition, I turned off the projector and Starchoice and watched the last 5 minutes of the game on Comcast in SD. It was WELL worth it. :)

I went nuts on the Cheechoo tying goal, but ballistic on the Thornton goal to win it with 8 seconds left. I screamed like crazy, jumped out of my seat, and fell to me knees in pure joy. I felt like I was going to cry I was that happy. My wife thinks our neighbors below were banging on the ceiling to get me to shut up. I was only loud and annoying for about 30 seconds - 1 minute, but I think we all should be allowed some latitude.

Well worth it, even in SD. :DYou know it's just a game, and their winning or losing doesn't affect your life in any real or substantial way, right?

(It's a good thing you switched to your regular TV, though. They would have lost otherwise.)

Sunnyvale 94087 at Sunnyvale-Saratoga & Remington is UPGRADED as of this morning! :D:D:D

My TivoHD did not recognize the new channels so I went to channel line-up and pressed "Enter". Ran the setup for the new channel lineup and we're downloading program info now! Rock!

JD

I concur! I checked this morning right before I went to work. :) Wow, it's about time!

HDT looked fine to me. Certainly no artifacts on the level of what I saw on TNT. In fact later on I was watching another show on TNT - one of those young-hip detective shows... CSI or whatever, can't keep them straight... anyway THAT show looked fine. So did every other channel including AE, Nat Geo (which is 720p never looked that great anyway), MHD, ESPN (ESPN2 was showing ESPN News HD - wow what a difference... when do we get that channel HD full time? :)

so I'm going to say it was just a fluke or a problem with that Replacements movie. not panicking yet...

for any directv people out there.
I was looking at the channels available and noticed csn/csnhd as being there.
is comcast really broadcasting their sportsnet channel and can you see
the sharks games with no blackout issues?
thanks

for any directv people out there.
I was looking at the channels available and noticed csn/csnhd as being there.
is comcast really broadcasting their sportsnet channel and can you see
the sharks games with no blackout issues?
thanks

You might get a better answer here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=615354

HD PQ is one reason why I do a lot of my movie watching on BluRay these days. Now for the BD camp to loosen things up a bit so the small guys who make the Indie films can affored to distribute on that platform.

I'll go out on a limb and say that we in 94087 around Las Palmas Park may be upgraded very soon. This morning, my cable modem has switched to 705 MHz download carrier frequency. It was at 549 MHz before. SNR is 35 dB, a couple of dB less than before.

Nothing has changed in the TV channels, though. No new channel added, and the existing HD channels have not moved.
I hope you're right. I presume when you're upgraded, I'll be upgraded. I'm pretty sure I'm not too far from you.

HDT looked fine to me. Certainly no artifacts on the level of what I saw on TNT. In fact later on I was watching another show on TNT - one of those young-hip detective shows... CSI or whatever, can't keep them straight... anyway THAT show looked fine. So did every other channel including AE, Nat Geo (which is 720p never looked that great anyway), MHD, ESPN (ESPN2 was showing ESPN News HD - wow what a difference... when do we get that channel HD full time? :)

so I'm going to say it was just a fluke or a problem with that Replacements movie. not panicking yet...

that's so weird, whenever i tune into HDT now, it is full of mosquito noise. also, was replacements actually on in HD? if i recall, TNT only showed it on the infamous stretch-o-vision.

Yes! I woke up this morning and my wife said we have On Demand. I checked it out and yes indeed we do. Blair/Peach Ave 94087 off of Mary.

Need to get home and see whats there now and what the quality is.

What a shame for you guys to be upgraded at the same time that they
degrade the HD PQ. Hope you can still enjoy what's left.....

this is america. we should be able to buy both.In America, crappy channels buy YOU!

I'm new to the HD scene and have one critical question. We already have digital starter package and I'm getting my first HDTV. If I get an HD box, can what HD channels can I get without upgrading to the digital preferred package? I'm in sunnyvale, CA. Anyone know? I've been on comcast website, but I can't clearly find the answer.

My HDT looks fine, no mosquito noise or macroblocking but PQ looks a bit soft, not by much. PBS has softened up considerably and seems to exhibit some ghosting-like artifacts on some programs. On occasion I get small patches of pixellation, mostly reddish/orange colored pixels in fast action scenes, similar to what walk posted in his pictures on some channels.

I'm new to the HD scene and have one critical question. We already have digital starter package and I'm getting my first HDTV. If I get an HD box, can what HD channels can I get without upgrading to the digital preferred package? I'm in sunnyvale, CA. Anyone know? I've been on comcast website, but I can't clearly find the answer.
If your part of Sunnyvale has On Demand, your HD line up for Dig starter will be:

702-KTVU
703-KNTV
704-KRON
705-KPIX
706-KICU
707-KGO
709-KQED
712-KBCW
720-CSNBA
722-VERSUS/GOLF CHANNEL
724-ESPN
725-ESPN 2
734-A&E
735-TBD
737-TNT
738-USA
739-UNIVERSAL HD
740-MOJO
743-MUSIC HD
746-HGTV
747-FOOD NETWORK
750-DISCOVERY
751-ANIMAL PLANET
752-TLC
754-DISCOVERY THEATER
758-HISTORY
759-CNN
769-AMC

So basically all you're missing is 730 (nfl), 736( sci -fi) 757 ( nat geo) and the 4 premium channel HD feeds. Hope this helps

Curtis

Yeah.. on slow camera pans with lots of repetitive detail, the new increased compression is almost unwatchable. It was giving us a headache watching a show on Natgeo.. When we popped in Bridge to Terabithia on bluray.. it was like night and day.

The PQ was always great before. The reg/orange/green pixelation around any kind of movement now is unforgivable.

After watching some more, it does seem like there's more compression/artifacts on a lot of channels. But it's not terrible, and only those pics I posted were what I'd call "un-watchable". Reminds me of the 2004 Olympics on NBC actually...

In other words, if this is the worst it gets and it only gets better from here (either by better rate-shaping, or SDV, and/or eventual MPEG4 deployment...) then I wouldn't bury Comcast just yet. Satellite has it's own compression/resolution issues let's not forget. FIOS isn't available here unfortunately.... so that's not an option...

The fact is, if Battlestar Galactica looks good (and it will look better than before, ie standard-def..) and the majority of HD viewing I do is live sports on CSN/etc which are still full bit rate AFAIK - (Sharks game looks great tonite) then I'm not horribly upset.

for any directv people out there.
I was looking at the channels available and noticed csn/csnhd as being there.
is comcast really broadcasting their sportsnet channel and can you see
the sharks games with no blackout issues?
thanks

So yes, it is on. But I keep switching over to the Rockies/Padres in HD!

You know it's just a game, and their winning or losing doesn't affect your life in any real or substantial way, right?

Yeah, it's a real shame he has to go through experiencing something he enjoys and that makes him happy... :rolleyes:

Paying the increased rates and getting the infrastructure upgraded, these things are good. As a customer I don't mind this process, I understand it.

Where things go wrong is when I'm paying a premium to receive HD content, in an area with plenty of bandwidth to spare, and then see PQ go backwards and degrade, to a point where my completely non-enthusiast girlfriend has a problem with it and actually has some trouble even watching on several occasions.

How do I justify this expense, how do I continue as a customer now when this inexcusable change has been made.

Were there a reason for this, were this necessary, I'd be alright. If I were in a 550MHz area(or any situation where capacity was near its limit) and got more HD out of this switch, that would be something.

I guess a 4th dish will be going up on my 4 unit apartment's roof soon.. Getting some information from Comcast about why this was done and perhaps if/when it will be fixed or improved is the only thing I am now waiting on before switching, which I really don't want to do as I've had a great experience to this point with the company.

all the 3 in 1 cramming we have to put up with will at least pay off tonight. BSG FINALLY. my tivo is picking it up at 3 hours earlier (7pm), so at least i can watch it sooner than later. whoohoo!

Yeah, it's a real shame he has to go through experiencing something he enjoys and that makes him happy... :rolleyes:It's even more of a shame that there are people out there with no sense of humor.

You know it's just a game, and their winning or losing doesn't affect your life in any real or substantial way, right?

(It's a good thing you switched to your regular TV, though. They would have lost otherwise.)

Yeah, it's a real shame he has to go through experiencing something he enjoys and that makes him happy... :rolleyes:

It's even more of a shame that there are people out there with no sense of humor.

That's one of those things about the internet, Gary. I happen to know that you do stand-up comedy as a sideline. Not everyone is privy to that, because you haven't told them.

Based on your original comments, most people would see them as an attack. In your dry sense of humor way, it is an attack. But without emoticons to say you are joking how is anyone to know whether you are being a jerk or a comedian.

I called yesterday and changed my subscription to Digital Classic so I could get the new channels but as of yet nothing has changed and yes I even unplugged and plugged back in the box so back on the phone to them this afternoon. The last time I made a change it only took an hour.

all the 3 in 1 cramming we have to put up with will at least pay off tonight. BSG FINALLY. my tivo is picking it up at 3 hours earlier (7pm), so at least i can watch it sooner than later. whoohoo!we're getting the east coast feed of Sciffy HD apparently. so 7pm, with the replay at 9:30.

Pappy97,

Can you continue to watch in SD?
Just in case, can you watch all your TV, sports or not, in SD from here until Sunday midnight or whenever the Sharks game ends.
Come on, there should be a lot of books you want to read, now it's the time. ;)

I switched to DISH from Comcast on Sunday. In 6 days they have added four HD channels, at no extra cost-USA, CNN, SCI-FI and Cinemax (well -they are charging me 1 penny per year for Cinemax).

Comcast better be paying attention. In two years I will have the option of switching back!

That's one of those things about the internet, Gary. I happen to know that you do stand-up comedy as a sideline. Not everyone is privy to that, because you haven't told them.

Based on your original comments, most people would see them as an attack. In your dry sense of humor way, it is an attack. But without emoticons to say you are joking how is anyone to know whether you are being a jerk or a comedian.

I knew it was a joke (based on what was said in the parentheticals. but a smiley face would have helped I guess).

Pappy97,

Can you continue to watch in SD?
Just in case, can you watch all your TV, sports or not, in SD from here until Sunday midnight or whenever the Sharks game ends.
Come on, there should be a lot of books you want to read, now it's the time. ;)

I will watch Game 6 in SD on CSN-BA. Hopefully with all the superstitions (I have many more, too many to list here), they will pull out the big win.

If not, I'll be at Game 7, much better than SD or HD.

If they are lucky enough to advance, for a road game I will try to watch HD on Starchoice (likely to be TSN no matter who they draw since Canadian teams are gone). TSN-HD is actually decent and they don't do 16:9 SD and pretend like it's HD.

I think the hockey gods wanted to teach me a lesson that just because CBC is showing a game in 16:9 SD (And pretending it's HD), doesn't mean I should watch that over 4:3 SD Comcast Sports Net with Randy and Drew. Thank the gods I learned that lesson with 5:00 left in Game 4 and now after Game 5 the Sharks lead the series 3-2.

So say we all.

It's even more of a shame that there are people out there with no sense of humor.

I figured you might be joking, but it's the exact kind of comment that many people make in all seriousness. Consider it a comment to those people and not to you. Sorry for not getting your joke.

I switched to DISH from Comcast on Sunday. In 6 days they have added four HD channels, at no extra cost-USA, CNN, SCI-FI and Cinemax (well -they are charging me 1 penny per year for Cinemax).

Comcast better be paying attention. In two years I will have the option of switching back!

comcast just added 6 three days ago

Wow...the PQ in Sunnyvale has really gone down.....I cannot watch any HD channel without noticing blurry movement, pixelation during fast moving images and for some reason, Sci-Fi HD is messed up....it doesnt show up in widescreen format...

Seriously, what are the other options here? Comcast seems to be the cheapest one (i have the triple-play -voice+internet+TV)...checked out Dish and DirecTV but they turn out to be more expensive than this promo I got...

comcast just added 6 three days ago

And messed up everything we had before....:D :p :mad:

And messed up everything we had before....:D :p :mad:

90% of all statistics can be made to say anything... 50% of the time! ;)

I spent about 1/2 hour on the phone to support trying to figure why I'm not getting the channels, hitting/resetting the box a number of times and he wound up writing up a ticket to see internally what is wrong. He was aware that there have been burps getting these channels up with customers around the Bay Area.

comcast just added 6 three days ago

Unfortunately those six were not added in my area. I would have stayed it they were!

My date canceled on me, so I sat down 5 minutes ago to watch BSG for the first time in HD in 3 years live...and am utterly horrified. The macroblocking is among the worst that I've ever seen on any program on any channel. The initial scene with Cavill was actually jumping since it was so bad.

Am I alone in this?

(I'm also going to record the later showing to see if it's any better.)

Comcast is definitely running triples on the HD channels I just ran through all of the channels on the DVR's Diagnostics screen and here are the 3:1s that I found:

0819.00 Mhz : USAHD, SCIFI, DSHD
0813.00 Mhz: S-HDw, HGTVD, A&EHD
0807.00 Mhz: AMCGD, CNNHD, VS/GLF
0753.00 Mhz: APHD, HISTD, HDT
0237.00 Mhz: FOODD, NGHD, UHD

I see the same triples along with TLC, HBO, MAX.....

I see the same triples along with TLC, HBO, MAX.....

I had those as well on 0711.00 Mhz, but forgot to list them. Great, isn't it?

My date canceled on me, so I sat down 5 minutes ago to watch BSG for the first time in HD in 3 years live...and am utterly horrified. The macroblocking is among the worst that I've ever seen on any program on any channel. The initial scene with Cavill was actually jumping since it was so bad.

Am I alone in this?

(I'm also going to record the later showing to see if it's any better.)

I thought it looked great tonight (although I was watching it on Dish ;) )

I am having some problems; I'm not sure if it's related to my electronic program guide Zap2It! or my cableboxes themselves. I use Zap2It! to control my cablebox channel changes. Anyway, this is what I have right now:

Works only on Cablebox #1
720 CSNHD
751 APLHD

Doesnt work on any either cablebox
769 AMCHD


The rest all work on both cableboxes:
736 SCIFIHD - WORKING
747 FOODHD - WORKING
752 TLCHD - WORKING
754 HDT - WORKING
759 CNNHD - WORKING

Please.... all people who haven't done this already who see degradation in picture quality, vent your frustration and complaints on this FCC false advertisement form.

https://esupport.fcc.gov/sform2000/formA!input.action

Comcast is advertising that they provide "HD" premium channels for their customers. But, to my eyes, many of the channels look closer to DVD quality.

Wow...the PQ in Sunnyvale has really gone down.....I cannot watch any HD channel without noticing blurry movement, pixelation during fast moving images and for some reason, Sci-Fi HD is messed up....it doesnt show up in widescreen format...

Seriously, what are the other options here? Comcast seems to be the cheapest one (i have the triple-play -voice+internet+TV)...checked out Dish and DirecTV but they turn out to be more expensive than this promo I got...

BSG was hitting a whopping 12mbps avg tonight, during EST feed, and a little higher during the west feed. Very sad.

Does anyone know of a simple MS Windows utility to show a graph with average bitrate for a specified time period? I've been searching and searching.

Big expectations for BSG tonight in HD here in 94110, SF CA. Very disappointed, other than the talking head sequences which were gloriously clear. The same cannot be said for anything other than moving lips.

It's pretty sad when someone walks across the screen and I get pixellation and macroblocking. I can only imagine what one of the dogfight sequences will look like with more than two things moving on the screen.

You'd think that Comcast would be smart enough to bump up the bandwidth for popular shows with huge techie audiences who know how to complain to them and the FCC.

My unborn child would be complaining about the PQ on BSG. If DirecTV went back to TiVo I'd be over there in the time it would take me to call them up. Sadly I'm locked into Comcast and CableCards. Damn you, TiVo, give me component inputs on your next box...

I called yesterday and changed my subscription to Digital Classic so I could get the new channels .....

Adding Digital Classic would NOT give you those new channels.

Adding Digital Classic would NOT give you those new channels.Has anyone confirmed exactly what gives the new channels? Digital Starter?

Big expectations for BSG tonight in HD here in 94110, SF CA. Very disappointed, other than the talking head sequences which were gloriously clear. The same cannot be said for anything other than moving lips.

It's pretty sad when someone walks across the screen and I get pixellation and macroblocking. I can only imagine what one of the dogfight sequences will look like with more than two things moving on the screen.

You'd think that Comcast would be smart enough to bump up the bandwidth for popular shows with huge techie audiences who know how to complain to them and the FCC.

My unborn child would be complaining about the PQ on BSG. If DirecTV went back to TiVo I'd be over there in the time it would take me to call them up. Sadly I'm locked into Comcast and CableCards. Damn you, TiVo, give me component inputs on your next box...
Agreed. The PQ for BSG last night was pathetic. If it's similar next week, I'll watch it in SD. It was that bad.

Adding Digital Classic would NOT give you those new channels.
For $1 they bumped me to Preffered anyway and they insisted those channels (SCIFI and USAHD) should be coming it and that is why the ticket got written up. The main difference between that and Starter is you get the SD channels in that range above 34. Why would I want those? I would also get a larger bill.

Big businesses are like dinosaurs they are cumbersome and move too slowly.

The main difference between that and Starter is you get the SD channels in that range above 34. Why would I want those?
I don't want to say this is consistent for every area (so there can be exceptions), but Digital Starter is supposed to be the "digital" replacement for expanded basic. It happens to include analog expanded basic (for now), but also includes ADS expanded basic. It also includes the HD versions of the expanded basic channels.

If they can get you the new channels with just limited basic and digital preferred that's great for you. Normally it would require digital starter (which includes limited basic, expanded basic) and digital classic (or higher) to get all the HD channels except premiums.

The bulk of the HD channels moved from digital classic into digital starter. This didn't affect most people because if they had digital classic, most of the time, they also had expanded basic (or digital starter). It mainly affected those with limited basic + digital classic (ie skipping expanded basic) There is also some coding in the account to indicate you have an older account which overrides this, but often with such coding, you are limited to the channels that were available at the time your plan went out of vogue, meaning you often won't get the new channels unless you switch to current plans.

I agree that the PQ in the past month seems to have deteriorated. In the past I've had some success in "taking it to the top" by emailing my concerns to the president of Comcast, Brian Roberts.

I've gotten a reply from one of his special assistants and some positive action in the past.

I would strongly counsel anyone writing him (and actually hoping to get something accomplished) to clearly state the problem and the expectations, withing going into a rant or a rabid diatribe about what a horrible company they are. Rationality and reasonability gets results.

EMAIL: brian_roberts@comcast.com

Agreed. The PQ for BSG last night was pathetic. If it's similar next week, I'll watch it in SD. It was that bad.

actually i thought it wasn't that bad, close enough to UHD's reruns, prior to the 3 in 1. it definitely is purposefully shot with a lot of grain. that said, there was a lot of blocking, but i still prefer that over the REALLY REALLY disgusting SD.

BSG looked pretty good here at 95125, didn't see any problems.

Agreed. The PQ for BSG last night was pathetic. If it's similar next week, I'll watch it in SD. It was that bad.

SF 94103 here. Completely agree. It was so bad - image stutter, pixelation, etc. - that I called customer service to register a complaint. BSG was really the straw that broke the camel's back. Every channel looks so poor with any type of rapid movement that my wife now notices it. Even the NBC logo macroblocks as it swirls onto the screen.

The only thing keeping me at Comcast at this point is my wife's love for Tivo. Any more of this and I don't think I'll have any trouble moving back to DirecTV.

People keep saying BSG, what the heck is BSG. I dont see anything called that anywhere on my program guide.

Which of the below channels aren't new? People are saying 6 were added, but there's more than six below.

I am having some problems; I'm not sure if it's related to my electronic program guide Zap2It! or my cableboxes themselves. I use Zap2It! to control my cablebox channel changes. Anyway, this is what I have right now:

Works only on Cablebox #1
720 CSNHD
751 APLHD

Doesnt work on any either cablebox
769 AMCHD


The rest all work on both cableboxes:
736 SCIFIHD - WORKING
747 FOODHD - WORKING
752 TLCHD - WORKING
754 HDT - WORKING
759 CNNHD - WORKING

People keep saying BSG, what the heck is BSG. I dont see anything called that anywhere on my program guide.

Because they're using a fudged up acronym, the name of the show is "Battlestar Galactica", for some reason folks like to separate the "star" from the "Battle". The correct acronym is "BG".

Thanks, I was actually trying to run that recording through a bitrate analyzer last night because I wanted to see the average bitrate since it didnt look so good to my eyes.

Because they're using a fudged up acronym, the name of the show is "Battlestar Galactica", for some reason folks like to separate the "star" from the "Battle". The correct acronym is "BG".

I don't want to say this is consistent for every area (so there can be exceptions), but Digital Starter is supposed to be the "digital" replacement for expanded basic. It happens to include analog expanded basic (for now), but also includes ADS expanded basic. It also includes the HD versions of the expanded basic channels.

If they can get you the new channels with just limited basic and digital preferred that's great for you. Normally it would require digital starter (which includes limited basic, expanded basic) and digital classic (or higher) to get all the HD channels except premiums.

The bulk of the HD channels moved from digital classic into digital starter. This didn't affect most people because if they had digital classic, most of the time, they also had expanded basic (or digital starter). It mainly affected those with limited basic + digital classic (ie skipping expanded basic) There is also some coding in the account to indicate you have an older account which overrides this, but often with such coding, you are limited to the channels that were available at the time your plan went out of vogue, meaning you often won't get the new channels unless you switch to current plans.

Don't be silly. I'm not going to pay $80+ a month just to get SCIFIHD. That's just plain extortion. Besides they agreed it wasn't necessary to have digital starter (though they sure tried to sell it to me). Comcast is like a car dealership, they'll try to sell you everything they can but if you're wise you just walk away or try another "salesman." I think the reference to Starter was to get the channels like CNNHD, FOODHD, AMCHD, anyway not Sci-Fi as the messages are different with Sci-Fi showing "one moment please" and the others "Not Authorized." And that might not be true either. I wonder if anyone at Comcast really knows what is going on. :D

Well, at least ESPN and ABC are looking really good today. I'm watching the NBA games and they look gorgeous.

actually i thought it wasn't that bad, close enough to UHD's reruns, prior to the 3 in 1. it definitely is purposefully shot with a lot of grain. that said, there was a lot of blocking, but i still prefer that over the REALLY REALLY disgusting SD.
I'm not talking about the grain. I never had any PQ issues with the UHD rebroadcasts (though who knows now...) This was much, much worse.

I wonder if anyone at Comcast really knows what is going on. :D
Sure there is, but it's painfully obvious they don't communicate with those who don't. :rolleyes:

It's a cost thing, spend millions on competent customer service and have it put a strain on the bottom line, or, spend thousands and deal with that 1 in 100 subscriber that continues to make noise when ever they get around to it.

It's SOP for a lot of companies of this nature. CS costs money, that's why so many companies farm it out to areas with much lower labor costs.

When Sci-Fi HD airs their repeats of HD show, they are HD right? I was checking out BSG last night around 12AM and it was SD letterbox... I was at a friends house earlier in the day, and I saw Dr Who on Sci-Fi HD, and it was correct.

Ah the joy's of Delta Valley Comcast, time to rip 'em a new one... I bet they'll claim it's HD like they did when they screwed up ESPN 2 HD and just fed the SD feed to the HD channel initially.

fitprod

To keenan:

Or as I learned in the software business make your product so well that it requires little tech support. What you spend up front saves in costs on the back end. Go check out your account online on Comcast and see how much information you can get. Very little. They could save a lot in support costs right there. And I can just bet the reason is they are not spending enough to get databases and (probably antiquated) systems to speak to each other. CSRs sound almost afraid to talk to the head end geeks. Maybe it's because they're afraid the head end geeks will bite their head off. :D

People keep saying BSG, what the heck is BSG. I dont see anything called that anywhere on my program guide.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=People+keep+saying+BSG%2C+what+the+heck+is+BSG.+I+dont+see +anything+called+that+anywhere+on+my+program+guide.&btnG=Google+Search

Check the first page results..I couldn't help it. :p

To keenan:

Or as I learned in the software business make your product so well that it requires little tech support. What you spend up front saves in costs on the back end. Go check out your account online on Comcast and see how much information you can get. Very little. They could save a lot in support costs right there. And I can just bet the reason is they are not spending enough to get databases and (probably antiquated) systems to speak to each other. CSRs sound almost afraid to talk to the head end geeks. Maybe it's because they're afraid the head end geeks will bite their head off. :D

Really, Apple vs Microsoft is a good example, although I've heard that Apple's latest iterations of their OS has a distinct MS(read buggy) smell to it. :D

Every channel looks so poor with any type of rapid movement that my wife now notices it. Even the NBC logo macroblocks as it swirls onto the screen.
If you see NBC problems they are not due to Comcast trans-rating.

Not all channels have been trans-rated. From my observation the channels associated with 3-pak now correspond one to one with the ones that are trans-rated.

Which of the below channels aren't new? People are saying 6 were added, but there's more than six below.
CSN and HDT are not new. CSN is technically new, but is really the old FSNBA.

Don't be silly. I'm not going to pay $80+ a month just to get SCIFIHD.
...
I think the reference to Starter was to get the channels like CNNHD, FOODHD, AMCHD, anyway not Sci-Fi as the messages are different with Sci-Fi showing "one moment please" and the others "Not Authorized."
Ahem, I responded to what *you* said, that you signed up for digital preferred to get the "new" channels.

If all you care about is SciFi go ahead and work on getting it. If you care about the other "new" channels referenced in your post, I'm pointing out the likely reason you don't get them is because you don't have digital starter.

You can ignore my attempts to help you resolve your reception issues if you'd like, but most likely you will just get frustrated banging your head against a Comcast brick wall.

Well, at least ESPN and ABC are looking really good today. I'm watching the NBA games and they look gorgeous.
ESPN and ABC are not trans-rated, nor are they 3-pak, at this point in time.

Ahem, I responded to what *you* said, that you signed up for digital preferred to get the "new" channels.

If all you care about is SciFi go ahead and work on getting it. If you care about the other "new" channels referenced in your post, I'm pointing out the likely reason you don't get them is because you don't have digital starter.

You can ignore my attempts to help you resolve your reception issues if you'd like, but most likely you will just get frustrated banging your head against a Comcast brick wall.

Not that I don't appreciate you're efforts but my comment was about having to buy such a high tier to get a channel which was already included in my lineup as SD. That's what seems silly.

What is misleading about Comcast's lineups as posted on the November bill is that the tiers can be cumulative. They don't explain that well and in some cases it is not cumulative. It may be in the fine fine print and that is also not very ethical. However as I said before I'm supposed to get Sci-Fi HD in that lineup and I believe I read here that some people were getting it with less than Digital Starter. The latter BTW is also misleading on that listing as it shows as only 5 channels there: Movieplex, Fearnet (VOD), Access Television Network, Hallmark Channel and FSN Plus/Jewelry TV. Like I said before it resembles a shell game.

As it stands I'm giving them their 48 hours to find if it is an internal problem. I pushed yesterday to verify what is supposed to be the case. If I'm still not happy this coming week I'll gear up for a call to Michael Finney next Saturday. :D

I have Standard + Digital Classic and HDTV. I get all the HD channels except NFL and the premium movie channels (HBO, Showtime/etc)

the newest channels added Apr. 15th are
736 SCIFIHD
751 APLHD
747 FOODHD
752 TLCHD
759 CNNHD
769 AMCHD

that's 6. I get all of those.

Battlestar Galactica was terrible. Some scenes were so bad they were skipping or dropping frames or something. Better than SD I suppose, but FAR from what they looked like on UHD a few weeks ago. I had to be sure it wasn't a signal issue so I checked mine (it's fine, as always) and recorded both broadcasts to compare them, they were both the same (terrible).

Picture quality has also gotten noticably worse on most of the other cable channels. Local channels seem unaffected (including Comcast Sports Net) thankfully. There is always some macroblocking on swish-pans and full screen flying logos, NBC included - sometimes those broadcasts are starved for bits by the network or something inbetween, not by Comcast) but not like I'm seeing on TONS of channels all the time there is i.e. a lot of camera motion.

It sucks, and I don't like it, and I wish we had a real choice other than dropping a lot of money on dish equipment... such as FIOS. My plan is to return the 2nd HD cable box upstairs when the free year is up (hey that's this month, lucky me huh?) and limp along watching my sports in HD on CSN and the locals, and just rent Blu-rays for everything else - at least until I can afford to buy a bunch of DirectTV equipment OR Comcast does something about the PQ.

What a shame.

So is SDV the solution here?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13239408#post13239408

It looks like Cablevision and Time Warner out east are already tying HD channels into SDV.

http://gizmodo.com/380949/cablecard-users-are-getting-screwed-out-of-hd-channels

Has anyone seen anything more on the SDV USB dongle for TiVo? There was an interesting comment on the 9.3 software re cable cards.

http://www.betanews.com/article/TiVo_93_software_update_to_speed_up_the_DVRs_interface/1207179183

I found a little more discussion on a HDTiVo Dongle:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=6191045#post6191045

http://connectedhome2go.com/2007/11/30/juicy-details-on-the-new-switched-digital-solution-for-cablecard-devices/

http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2008-04/wheres-the-sdv-tuning-resolver/

It had better be a USB dongle and not this POS:

http://connectedhome2go.com/2007/11/30/juicy-details-on-the-new-switched-digital-solution-for-cablecard-devices/

A little bit off topic but, does anyone has Comcast Voice?
how do you rate the service? does it affects any of the other services? video? internet?

I received a letter for $19.99 a month for 12 months.

Sure there is, but it's painfully obvious they don't communicate with those who don't. :rolleyes:

It's a cost thing, spend millions on competent customer service and have it put a strain on the bottom line, or, spend thousands and deal with that 1 in 100 subscriber that continues to make noise when ever they get around to it.

It's SOP for a lot of companies of this nature. CS costs money, that's why so many companies farm it out to areas with much lower labor costs.

But this is different. With other distributors you don't need to call anyone to find what you are supposed to get. Your package a clearly defined on the web. Comcast makes (might be intentionally) its channel line up a gigantic mess apparently CSRs are just as clueless as customers about channel lineup. I don't think it the CSRs who are so incompetent but its is their system.

Providing channels for a monthly fee is what Comcast does primarily... how can they not give any thought about how to communicate to customers about what they are paying for? A CSR should just be able to put in customers account number and be able to know exactly what channels they are supposed to be getting. Even better it should be listed when I log into my Cable account. Its not so hard.. it might even reduce their customer service expenses by a lot.

I have all 3 in San Jose and it has been working very well for me for the past 6 months. Haven't had any problems with voice at all and the modem you get comes with a battery so if power goes out your phone will still work well until the battery dies.

A little bit off topic but, does anyone has Comcast Voice?
how do you rate the service? does it affects any of the other services? video? internet?

I received a letter for $19.99 a month for 12 months.

Earlier posts in this thread about the new channels being broadcast on the same bands as old channels got me curious so tonight I went channel by channel looking at the MHz band on each of the HD channels in our lineup. So for anyone else in Alameda who was curious, here's what our channel bandwidth looks like:

Band: Channels
111 MHz: 702 Fox, 705 CBS
201 MHz: 734 A&E, 746 HGTV, 780 Starz
219 MHz: 739 UHD, 747 FOOD, 757 NGC
477 MHz: 736 Sci-Fi, 738 USA, 750 DISC
537 MHz: 725 EPSN2, 737 TNT
579 MHz: 722 VSGLF, 759 CNN, 769 AMC
591 MHz: 706 KICU, 730 NFL
603 MHz: 743 MTV
681 MHz: 720 CSN, 740 MOJO
711 MHz: 711 Kron, 785 SHO
717 MHz: 751 APHD, 754 HDT, 758 HIST
741 MHz: 724 ESPN, 735 TBS
747 MHz: 752 TLC, 770 HBO, 792 Max
753 MHz: 707 ABC, 709 PBS
771 MHz: 703 NBC, 712 CW

*sigh* Glad we get what we pay for... oh wait. No, we don't.

I have all 3 in San Jose and it has been working very well for me for the past 6 months. Haven't had any problems with voice at all and the modem you get comes with a battery so if power goes out your phone will still work well until the battery dies.

Have you (or anyone else) tried "backfilling" the voice connection over your existing home wiring? My father in law said that if you connect the Line Out from your cable/VoIP modem to an in-wall jack, you will have a live connection on all your existing outlets. I'd be curious to see if that actually works.