Dave, can you explain the rationale as to which markets are getting the channels vs which aren't? Is it plant capacity or SDV or what? A little info here would soothe a lot of irritation.

I'd love to be able to explain - but I don't even know exactly why. I've got a few secrets that might explain it, of course if I passed them on I would say goodbye to that reason I stay.

The rulers of things have a tough job to do, I respect them and work hard to make the wait worthwhile.

Check back in 4 weeks. Might have a better answer.

^^^^
Along those same lines.....a serious question for you Comcast insiders......
Why can't they give the new "deprived" cities at least some of the new HD channels? At the very minimum, they can replace MojoHD with a new channel without affecting bandwidth, right? Please.....don't leave us without anything at all!

This is so weird, as noted earlier, I'm having flashbacks to the days when us 550'ers were saying the same things. :D

Since I only have Limited Basic along with the grandfathered CSNBA, ESPN, ESPN2, DHDT and Mojo, I'll be losing an HD channel myself in Mojo. I actually watch it every so often.

How do you get ESPN/etc on limited basic, aren't those encrypted?

I'd love to be able to explain - but I don't even know exactly why. I've got a few secrets that might explain it, of course if I passed them on I would say goodbye to that reason I stay.

The rulers of things have a tough job to do, I respect them and work hard to make the wait worthwhile.

Check back in 4 weeks. Might have a better answer.

I understand. But you should mention to folks in management that deploying new channels in the fashion they are without explaining limitations just makes people irritated for no good reason. It makes management appear irrational, which I am sure they are not.

Once the new channels come online, it will not be that hard to see whether or not they are implemented by SDV, or what frequencies they are being transmitted on - the diagnostics in the STB will tell us all that. So I am pretty surprised about Comcast being so close lipped about all this.

Personally, I would rather us go all-digital sooner rather than later, and follow in portland's footsteps. Screwing around with half measures isn't going to cut it in this market.

How do you get ESPN/etc on limited basic, aren't those encrypted?

I've always had them. It was discussed earlier in the thread, apparently there's several of us that have that lineup but I don't remember the exact details of why we are getting them. I believe being a subscriber before they switched all the packages around has something to do with it. It's one of the reasons I've never changed my package, getting 12 HD channels for $18 is a darn good deal, especially when you consider that with HSI, that $18 is about the difference in cost for stand-alone HSI without cableTV at all. It's like I'm getting all those TV channels for "free".

I understand. But you should mention to folks in management that deploying new channels in the fashion they are without explaining limitations just makes people irritated for no good reason. It makes management appear irrational, which I am sure they are not.

Once the new channels come online, it will not be that hard to see whether or not they are implemented by SDV, or what frequencies they are being transmitted on - the diagnostics in the STB will tell us all that. So I am pretty surprised about Comcast being so close lipped about all this.

Personally, I would rather us go all-digital sooner rather than later, and follow in portland's footsteps. Screwing around with half measures isn't going to cut it in this market.

This is such a large group of channels being added, it wouldn't surprise me to see the local media reporting on it as they have in the past on other issues Comcast related.

This is such a large group of channels being added, it wouldn't surprise me to see the local media reporting on it as they have in the past on other issues Comcast related.

And we will be happy to furnish them technical data on how COmcast is doing this even if Comcast doesn't. :-)

Oh, are those of us in markets that don't get all these new HD channels paying less than those who do? I didn't think so...

I'm a "860er", so I was spoiled before. I always wondered how you "550" guys could tolerate Comcast charging you the same as the folks who had several more HD channels. Now I'm in that boat. But it was never a 15-channel disparity, was it? As before, I will be one of the first to work with the local media on this as needed......

I'm a "860er", so I was spoiled before. I always wondered how you "550" guys could tolerate Comcast charging you the same as the folks who had several more HD channels. Now I'm in that boat. But it was never a 15-channel disparity, was it? As before, I will be one of the first to work with the local media on this as needed......

God, this is Deja Vu all over again. I had been in a 550 MHz area ( and one of the biggest bitchers ) since the start and I said the same things. It was one of the things that got me involved with working with Comcast in the first place, to get all the areas upgraded to the same levels and having the same things available in all areas and to Comcast's credit they have done the right thing and got most, if not all, of the 550 MHz areas upgraded. I haven't been following the upgrades of the areas but if there is an area that is still 550 MHz, I'd like to know.

I don't have the ear of Comcast like I use to, due to some medical problems I've had, but I have emailed Mr. J. to see if he can shed any light on why so many areas are not, at this time, getting these new channels. I do have an idea of the hold up but that would just be just my idea and I hate to spread rumors and such and I'm still under NDA. So until I hear from Mr J. I'll just leave it at that. As soon as I get a response I'll be back and post it here.

Laters,
Mikef5

I'm a "860er", so I was spoiled before. I always wondered how you "550" guys could tolerate Comcast charging you the same as the folks who had several more HD channels. Now I'm in that boat. But it was never a 15-channel disparity, was it? As before, I will be one of the first to work with the local media on this as needed......

Actually, it was more. For the longest time, well until the upgrade was finished several months ago, we only had 11 HD channels, including locals, and 3 of those 11 were premium channels(HBO,etc). Some areas had 1 or 2 less even. This was while many of you had 30+ plus HD channels. And yes, there was no real difference in the rates we paid compared to what you folks paid.

God, this is Deja Vu all over again.

It is, I'm even seeing some of the exact wording we used in the past to complain about lack of channels. :D

It is, I'm even seeing some of the exact wording we used in the past to complain about lack of channels. :D

That's because I read all your posts and remember how unfair it seemed to you guys.
Now I get to feel the pain myself! :rolleyes:

I just talked with a friend of mine in Comcast, and while he didn't give me the low down on what's going on, he told me that they wern't deploying any SDV in the Bay Area. So my main theory explaining this is shot...

That's because I read all your posts and remember how unfair it seemed to you guys.
Now I get to feel the pain myself! :rolleyes:

Yup, it really did/does seem a bit unfair, but, this is business, I'm sure Comcast knows what they're doing(we hope :p ).

I still don't understand why we can't get a couple of those new HD channels....

I'm actually reading post 1-2 years ago and just doing copy pastes here :P

God, this is Deja Vu all over again.

Only if you are still with Comcast ;)

I wanna both laugh and cry about it from the outside...Anyway, I keep watching only because a small part of me would be intrested in coming back if comcast every became a technology leader in the market (vs a laggard)

That part of me is the one that knows how hard Dave works to make it is as good of experience as possible for customers that one person can stuck inside a big ugly beast :eek:

Steady paycheck.:D

Anyone going to CES?

so you're a comcast lackey eh???? ;)

seriously though, i'm planning for my 19th+ CES in 2 months... ;)


btw, what's the latest comcast box? i just figured out my 5+ year old moto 6412's hard drive is FUBAR. i checked the diagnostic screen and out of 120 GB, i'm using 10 GB and only 45GB free... ok... :eek:

so you're a comcast lackey eh???? ;)

seriously though, i'm planning for my 19th+ CES in 2 months... ;)

btw, what's the latest comcast box? i just figured out my 5+ year old moto 6412's hard drive is FUBAR. i checked the diagnostic screen and out of 120 GB, i'm using 10 GB and only 45GB free... ok... :eek:

Answer to the box question depends on your system - the 6412 has been eclipsed first by the DCT3416 and then the DCH3416. Those two are All Digital Simulcast boxes only - a couple of areas are not ADS such as Santa Cruz and maybe Half Moon Bay and are 6412 only areas.

Coming later is the Moto DCX.

Answer to the box question depends on your system - the 6412 has been eclipsed first by the DCT3416 and then the DCH3416.I have the DCH3416 which has a strange problem. If I use fast forward on a HD NBC recording, it will FF for a short time and then it skips to the end of the recording. I've never had this problem with other HD sources.

Do you or anyone else have any information about this problem? We are now on our second DCH3416. Using the "page up" key for five minute skips forward seems to work fine.

The Wikipedia "DCH3416 etc." manual has a proceedure for converting an unused key on the remote to a "thirty second" skip key, but our remote doesn't seem to accept entering a new code for a key. I may be doing something wrong, but the Wikipedia instructions aren't difficult to follow.

Answer to the box question depends on your system - the 6412 has been eclipsed first by the DCT3416 and then the DCH3416. Those two are All Digital Simulcast boxes only - a couple of areas are not ADS such as Santa Cruz and maybe Half Moon Bay and are 6412 only areas.

Coming later is the Moto DCX.

Ah, you guys are actually getting serious about deploying the DCX3200's the SF Bay Area? It would make sense especially since you have 1 Ghz plant out there, and the MPEG4 in the box might make a nice transition path since you could put mpeg4 encoded video north of the 860 Mhz dividing line that the old boxes can't cross.

Too bad it has that same 1980's GUI that is shared with the DCT2000. Maybe the DCX will have smoothed fonts at least. :-)

But I didn't think the managers in this market ever wanted to be in the 1st wave of any new technology deployment?

Answer to the box question depends on your system - the 6412 has been eclipsed first by the DCT3416 and then the DCH3416. Those two are All Digital Simulcast boxes only - a couple of areas are not ADS such as Santa Cruz and maybe Half Moon Bay and are 6412 only areas.

Coming later is the Moto DCX.

wow... 5 years later and all they can do is a 40gb upgrade?!?

sigh...

i'm in fremont, so it's one of the newer area.

I'm about a click away from ordering DirecTV.

Really it just comes down to price. I figured I would save almost $400 in the first year, with the 12 month promo prices, and that includes spending $16/mo for basic cable (either that or pay their ******** no-bundle fee - I'm keeping Comcast HSI). Oh that also includes buying a 2nd HD box for $100 (the HD-DVR is free).

Then after the first year promo prices are up I'll still be saving $15-20 a month (assuming cable prices don't increase... *waits for laughter to die down*) and of course all that for more HD channels, better quality on many (the last advantage cable had) and much better equipment, like a DVR that doesn't take dump and have to be unplugged from the wall every couple of weeks.

stupid question, but is there a way a person could just *buy* a DCX3400 and ask comcast to "activate" it even thought they aren't rolling out their *own* 3400's yet?

I have the DCH3416 which has a strange problem. If I use fast forward on a HD NBC recording, it will FF for a short time and then it skips to the end of the recording. I've never had this problem with other HD sources.

Do you or anyone else have any information about this problem? We are now on our second DCH3416. Using the "page up" key for five minute skips forward seems to work fine.

The Wikipedia "DCH3416 etc." manual has a proceedure for converting an unused key on the remote to a "thirty second" skip key, but our remote doesn't seem to accept entering a new code for a key. I may be doing something wrong, but the Wikipedia instructions aren't difficult to follow.

This seems to be known problem with the 3416s that started after the A25 update. I have it on my 3416 as do many others.

Even through its illegal for them to deny you to activate consumer-owned equipment, they will no doubt deny provisioning of your box. Everyone I know that thats tried this with Comcast has failed. stupid question, but is there a way a person could just *buy* a DCX3400 and ask comcast to "activate" it even thought they aren't rolling out their *own* 3400's yet?

so you're a comcast lackey eh???? ;)

seriously though, i'm planning for my 19th+ CES in 2 months... ;)


btw, what's the latest comcast box? i just figured out my 5+ year old moto 6412's hard drive is FUBAR. i checked the diagnostic screen and out of 120 GB, i'm using 10 GB and only 45GB free... ok... :eek:

Same guy from FJForum?

stupid question, but is there a way a person could just *buy* a DCX3400 and ask comcast to "activate" it even thought they aren't rolling out their *own* 3400's yet?

No. The only customer owned box they provision is a DCP501. The SF Bay team knows how to do that, and I personally have done it twice with no problem.

Now, since no operator as far as I know has rolled out a DCX3416 yet, you might be able to get them to provision it, since the logic behind denying such is that almost all the STB's people try this with are "stolen" boxes that were never returned to the MSO when service was shut off. So since the DCX hasn't been deployed, then they can't make that argument.

wow... 5 years later and all they can do is a 40gb upgrade?!?

sigh...

i'm in fremont, so it's one of the newer area.

IMHO (opinions are like ....) I side with the industry that maintains that DVRs are for time-shifting and not archiving programming. If you could hang a couple of terabytes off the back and record everything you ever wanted - why would you buy more subscription programming?

Or the movie moguls that would rather you went out and bought DVDs to keep forever have a part in it.

Did I hear that some other company's DVRs delete recordings after some provider mandated expiration date? :eek::eek:

That, and I think the way Comcast pushes their VOD feature indicates they'd rather you use that than archive recordings.

IMHO (opinions are like ....) I side with the industry that maintains that DVRs are for time-shifting and not archiving programming.I've got no problem with that, but 20 hours of time-shifted football games doesn't go very far.

This seems to be known problem with the 3416s that started after the A25 update. I have it on my 3416 as do many others.That's consistant with my experience. Maybe the same firmware messed up the ability to add commands to the remote. Any ideas on that problem, or why it would only effect NBC?

IMHO (opinions are like ....) I side with the industry that maintains that DVRs are for time-shifting and not archiving programming. If you could hang a couple of terabytes off the back and record everything you ever wanted - why would you buy more subscription programming?

Or the movie moguls that would rather you went out and bought DVDs to keep forever have a part in it.

Did I hear that some other company's DVRs delete recordings after some provider mandated expiration date? :eek::eek:
Yeah, how dare we ask for control over content that we have purchased.

Let's be honest, if the TV and movie industries had their way all TVs would have a coin slot and you'd have to pay for every show you watched, with no way to record anything or even switch the channel during commercials.

Then when your time ran out the TV would automatically switch to infor-mercials and you wouldn't be able to turn it off, ever. It would be like 1984, huge screens everywhere selling us soap and prescription drugs 24/7.

I've got no problem with that, but 20 hours of time-shifted football games doesn't go very far.

My recollection is that 160g was the maximum a DCT's platform would take.

The DCX breaks the 160g barrier. There is a 250g option. Hope someone's thinking about the whole-house MOCA thing and specifies the 250g to support such a feature.

IMHO (opinions are like ....) I side with the industry that maintains that DVRs are for time-shifting and not archiving programming. If you could hang a couple of terabytes off the back and record everything you ever wanted - why would you buy more subscription programming?

Sometimes I time-shift for many many months. That's why I have two 1TB TiVos just for 5 local HD channels ..... and limited basic is all I need.

My recollection is that 160g was the maximum a DCT's platform would take.

The DCX breaks the 160g barrier. There is a 250g option. Hope someone's thinking about the whole-house MOCA thing and specifies the 250g to support such a feature.

No, I don't think so... I'm pretty sure Star Choice users have been successful in swapping in larger HDDs on the DCT DVR model they use. I'd have to hunt down the thread, but it was something I had considered doing myself at one time.

IMHO (opinions are like ....) I side with the industry that maintains that DVRs are for time-shifting and not archiving programming. If you could hang a couple of terabytes off the back and record everything you ever wanted - why would you buy more subscription programming?

Or the movie moguls that would rather you went out and bought DVDs to keep forever have a part in it.

Did I hear that some other company's DVRs delete recordings after some provider mandated expiration date? :eek::eek:

Well, that might make some sense if the programs were archived on VOD for a long time, but they aren't. For example, one of my favorite programs is Dogfights. My SageTV based DVR system records all the hi-def episodes, and I can watch them at any time during the year (even transcodes them so I can watch them on an ipod, etc..). Aside from placeshifting, Comcast VOD does not allow me to view the whole season, maybe only 3-4 episodes. That just isn't the same. Plus for some HD programs, Comcast charges you to watch episodes you missed.

This is even more true for kids programming. My daughter loves Dora, so right now we have 160 episodes stored and she can pick anyone she wants any time. There are a max of about 7 available via VOD. It's not a substitute.

And Comcast VOD isn't implemented very well - have you tried to skip around quickly in a program? The remote control for VOD is very sluggish compared to watching a program stored on disk.

As for substitution, I have only added tiers since I installed my SageTV system, not turned any off. Here's the problem as I see it. You and the programmers want people to pay the regular programming fees for just watching LiveTV, and then charge them extra for watching stuff that isn't live, charge them for old seasons of episodes that are sold via DVD, and charge them again for old episodes to view on your iPod, and charge them again if another family member has a windows style phone.

That is just plain unreasonable. If you want to move to an ala carte model for programming via VOD, fine, but don't expect people to pay for linear channel subscriptions any more. If you want people to keep paying for bundled channels in the subscription model, fine, but don't expect to charge people for watching a show in HD that they could have recorded locally via their subscription.

Consumers have been trained about what they can and can't do from the old analog days, and will not put up with being charged for every different viewing in the digital realm. That just won't cut it.

If Comcast just offers tiny storage on their STB's, people will buy Tivo's and SageTV system and the rest, and they won't put up with the 80's style UI either. If Comcast won't let that happen, then people will just move to DirecTV which is happy to let them store all they want since they don't have the option of a 2-way VOD system to offer.

I actually like Comcast service a lot, but that doesn't entitle you guys to try and pull all of the cookies out of the cookie jar at once - the hand can't fit through the opening.

Anyone in the East Bay get any hassle provisioning DCP501 boxes? My old leased 5100s have reached the end of their life and willl buy a couple of DCP501 if I know they are starting to get more and more DCP501's provisioned and know how to do it.

Anyone in the East Bay get any hassle provisioning DCP501 boxes? My old leased 5100s have reached the end of their life and willl buy a couple of DCP501 if I know they are starting to get more and more DCP501's provisioned and know how to do it.

Barovelli can make sure they do a good job for you... :-)

Barovelli who? Whats the quickest hassle free way to get this to happen for "North Bay" Customers? If this is a sure bet, I'll order two of these boxes right now... Could you PM me with the details?

Barovelli can make sure they do a good job for you... :-)

Barovelli who?Try reading this thread once in a while instead of just posting questions to it. :rolleyes:

Barovelli is our "deep throat" who risks his "steady paycheck" regularly by setting our rumor mill straight.

so how wouls i fin out what system my area uses ? how would i know if its a 750 or a 1ghz? i live in epa...just incase someone knows

I am new to the forum so sorry if this has been asked before. Can someone tell me if the Comcast system in Saratoga has been upgraded yet (or how I can tell if my area has been upgraded)?

I am new to the forum so sorry if this has been asked before. Can someone tell me if the Comcast system in Saratoga has been upgraded yet (or how I can tell if my area has been upgraded)?

Saratoga has been upgraded and is running at comcast's highest level (1Ghz)

so how wouls i fin out what system my area uses ? how would i know if its a 750 or a 1ghz? i live in epa...just incase someone knowsUnless it was upgraded within the past year, it's not a 1-GHz system. I know of no easy way to check without using equipment that you're not likely to have handy.

so how wouls i fin out what system my area uses ? how would i know if its a 750 or a 1ghz? i live in epa...just incase someone knowsSomeone had posted previously about using the frequency of a channel to determine here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=5537627&postcount=6246). I'm not sure which channel exactly to look at, maybe find the one with the greatest frequency and that will be the approximate limit of your area?

hiker--

That's not a good test. E.g., on my 860-MHz (at least) cable there are currently no signals above 750 MHz.

EDIT: Oops, my bad. I misremembered the upper channel limit for 750 MHz (rf 116). My cable feed has signals up to rf 122 (~786 MHz), so looking at your channel freqs. may be a fairly good diagnostic of whether or not you're on a 750 MHz feed after all.

There's a section at the FCC site that gives information on each system, but as I recall, the systems are named too generically to know exactly which one's they are. I believe the data does show the system capacity, but again, it may not have been updated recently. So essentially, not a lot of help. :p

I think some of the new HD channels will appear in many places. I am in San Jose and my analog 75 is already removed. My tivo says both 75 and 77 are removed. I haven't checked 77. With Mojo gone, that is space for 7 HD channels.

I'm in South San Jose, 95123, and the new channels are showing on my onscreen guide now. They aren't coming in yet, but they are in the guide. I saw all the new channels listed except the Travel Channel. I though San Jose wasn't getting the new HD channels? Maybe part of San Jose hasn't been upgraded yet and that's the area that's not getting them.

just lost 2.1 (KTVU HD) + 5.1 (KPIX HD) in San Jose


what's going on ?

In Sunnyvale I see that the powerboost on the upload hits between 5-6mbps upload. Before the node was capped at 3mbps. Maybe we will see those new speeds before the new year (and docsis 3.0).

I'm in South San Jose, 95123, and the new channels are showing on my onscreen guide now. They aren't coming in yet, but they are in the guide. I saw all the new channels listed except the Travel Channel. I though San Jose wasn't getting the new HD channels? Maybe part of San Jose hasn't been upgraded yet and that's the area that's not getting them.

Do you know if you're 750 or 860 MHz?

I have a DCH3200 converter box. Does that mean I'm in an 860mhz area? How can I tell?

just lost 2.1 (KTVU HD) + 5.1 (KPIX HD) in San Jose


what's going on ?

Yes, i lost these hd channels today as well. I am in west san jose.
No idea what's going on.

Edit: found kpix-5 hd on 78-1.

Got a few new HD channels showing up in the guide... but no content coming in yet.

Speed, Bravo, FX, QVC, Hallmark?, something on 753, Fox News, Fox Business news, CNBC, Cartoon Network, and Encore.

-In Hayward.

My guess is that the new channels won't go active until tomorrow...so midnight maybe.

Same here. Speed, Bravo, FX, QVC :mad:, Hallmark, 753 :confused:, Toon, Encore, Fox News and Fox Business, CNBC. They say Not Authorized as I check. Hopefully we'll get them tomorrow. One thing though, no Spike? Or will that be 753?

Yeah, I just noticed all the new HD channels here in San Jose as well. Not active right now, but I can flip to them and they're showing up on the guide. Here's hoping they're ready to go in the next 24 hours.

I'm in Fremont and also have the channels show up on the guide and noting that it will be available later. I thought only certain areas were getting the new channels and Fremont was not one of them. Hope we actually get the channels and it's not just there to taunt us.

They're in my guide in San Jose 95112 but not active yet. We'll see tomorrow evening. I'm happy again, almost.. :D

tivoHD picking up a ton of new channels in palo alto. of course i can't tune to any yet. i'm excited!

The new HD channels are active in Union City. Still wonder what happened to TravelHD.

i believe all channels are promised up and running in pa. kinda neat to see so many news and business news channels in HD (well at least the graphics package are)

Any word on why the remainder of the Bay Area did not get the new channels? Will they be available in the near future?

Here's the new HD lineup as of 11/25/08 (Hayward)

700 HDOD - HD on Demand
701 HDOD2 - Free HD on Demand Movies
702 KTVUD - FOX HD
703 DKNTV - NBC HD
704 KROND - My KRON (My Network TV) HD
705 KPIXD - CBS HD
706 KICUD - Tv36 HD
707 KGOHD - ABC HD
709 KQEDH - PBS HD
712 KBCWD - CW HD
720 CSNHD - Comcast SportsNet HD
722 VS/GLF - Versus/Golf HD
724 ESPND - ESPN HD
725 ES2HD - ESPN2 HD
730 NFLHD - NFL Network HD
731 SPDHD - Speed Network HD
733 BRVOD - Bravo HD
734 A&EHD - A&E HD
735 TBSHD - TBS HD
736 SFHD - SCIFI HD
737 TNTHD - TNT HD
738 USAHD - USA HD
739 UDH - Universal HD
740 MOJHD - MOJO HD
741 FXHD - FX HD
743 PLDHD - Palladia HD (MTV, VH1, CMT)
745 QVCHD - QVC HD
746 HGTVD - HGTV HD
747 FOODHD - Food Network HD
749 HALLD - Hallmark HD
750 DSCHD - Discovery HD
751 APHD - Animal Planet HD
752 TLCHD - The Learning Channel HD
753 EHD - E! HD
754 HDT - Discovery HD Theater
756 SCIHD - Discovery Science HD
757 NGCHD - National Geographic HD
758 HISTD - History HD
759 CNNHD - CNN HD
760 FNCHD - Fox News HD
761 FBNHD - Fox Business News
762 CNBCHD - CNBC HD
769 AMCHD - AMC HD
764 FAMHD - ABC Family HD
765 DISHD - Disney HD
766 TOOND - Cartoon Network HD
770 HBOHD - HBO HD
775 ENC1H - Encore HD
780 SZ1Hw - Starz HD
785 SHOHD - Showtime HD
792 MXHDW - Cinemax HD

Got the new channels on my 3416 but not on my S3. I can tune manually on my S3 so it's a guide issue. I'll give it a couple of days and ping Tivo if nothing shows up.

Update: getting pretty bad pixelation on FXHD. Not a good start...

I'm in Fremont and also have the channels show up on the guide and noting that it will be available later. I thought only certain areas were getting the new channels and Fremont was not one of them. Hope we actually get the channels and it's not just there to taunt us.

When I first tried this morning (in Fremont), for most of the new channels, the TiVo was listing the channel's call sign, and said it was waiting for a signal. Now, if I attempt to manually switch the TiVo to any of the new channels, I get a generic "To be announced" message in the status bar and no call sign, which looks about the same as any other unassigned channel number.

I get all of those channels in North SJ, plus 749 - Hallmark HD.

However, I sub to Digital Starter, so I am not authorized to receive , NFL, Sci, NG, or the new Fox Biz. (I also don't sub to any premiums.)

But, I get all of the others, which definitely makes Comcast much less of a ripoff than it was yesterday.

Here's the new HD lineup as of 11/25/08 (Hayward)

700 HDOD - HD on Demand
701 HDOD2 - Free HD on Demand Movies
702 KTVUD - FOX HD
703 DKNTV - NBC HD
704 KROND - My KRON (My Network TV) HD
705 KPIXD - CBS HD
706 KICUD - Tv36 HD
707 KGOHD - ABC HD
709 KQEDH - PBS HD
712 KBCWD - CW HD
720 CSNHD - Comcast SportsNet HD
722 VS/GLF - Versus/Golf HD
724 ESPND - ESPN HD
725 ES2HD - ESPN2 HD
730 NFLHD - NFL Network HD
731 SPDHD - Speed Network HD
733 BRVOD - Bravo HD
734 A&EHD - A&E HD
735 TBSHD - TBS HD
736 SFHD - SCIFI HD
737 TNTHD - TNT HD
738 USAHD - USA HD
739 UDH - Universal HD
740 MOJHD - MOJO HD
741 FXHD - FX HD
743 PLDHD - Palladia HD (MTV, VH1, CMT)
745 QVCHD - QVC HD
746 HGTVD - HGTV HD
747 FOODHD - Food Network HD
750 DSCHD - Discovery HD
751 APHD - Animal Planet HD
752 TLCHD - The Learning Channel HD
753 EHD - E! HD
754 HDT - Discovery HD Theater
756 SCIHD - Discovery Science HD
757 NGCHD - National Geographic HD
758 HISTD - History HD
759 CNNHD - CNN HD
760 FNCHD - Fox News HD
761 FBNHD - Fox Business News
762 CNBCHD - CNBC HD
769 AMCHD - AMC HD
764 FAMHD - ABC Family HD
765 DISHD - Disney HD
766 TOOND - Cartoon Network HD
770 HBOHD - HBO HD
775 ENC1H - Encore HD
780 SZ1Hw - Starz HD
785 SHOHD - Showtime HD
792 MXHDW - Cinemax HD

Got 'em all showing up in South San Jose too.....
I guess the press release was erroneous, but in our favor for a change!
(I noticed that the new Encore-HD feed was East Coast though)

Ouch!!! Had all those new channels show up in TV Guide last night and up until an hour ago (of course with the usual channel will be available shortly message when tried to tune to any of these)... Something must have happened - now TV Guide has resorted back to its old content... no more new HD channels... This is Fremont area. Anyone else notice this reset/rollback ?

Got the new channels on my 3416 but not on my S3. I can tune manually on my S3 so it's a guide issue. I'll give it a couple of days and ping Tivo if nothing shows up.

Update: getting pretty bad pixelation on FXHD. Not a good start...

Same new channel lineup ( that was posted by rxp19 ) here in the Milpitas area. My TivoHD gets the channels also but the guide hasn't been updated to reflect the changes. This seems to be typical for Tivo and their slowness at updating their guide when the channel lineups change.

As far as FXHD goes, it seems to be rock solid here but then again I only watched for about 15 min. then went back to something worth watching ( sorry but FXHD just doesn't seem to offer much programing that would be of interest to me ). As a matter of fact most of these new channels will have very little programing that will interest me but I'm sure alot of people will find this addition to their liking and for those of you that like to do comparisons by counting channels will be tickled pink, the gap is closing in on the SatCo's :p.

As for me, I'd prefer better HD programing from the networks. More channels does not mean more or better programing just more channels, but that's got to come from them and there's not much that Comcast can do about that except provide to us what is produced by the program providers.

All in all this addition of channels is nice, it's always nice to have more to choose from, but from all of these new channels I probably won't watch more than a couple of them at most and I too would of liked to have seen the Travel Channel HD added but then again you can't please everyone. Hopefully it will be added in a later roll out. ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

FXHD seems to have gotten better since I last checked it. I think I'll record tonight's The Shield series finally on both HD and SD channels...just in case.

So, what happens in February when the OTA analog goes away? Supposedly this does not result in a change for cable customers. But, presumably for now it is the OTA analog/SD feed that drives the cable analog channels and is digitized to create the parallel ADS feeds. Will the TV stations continue to supply an SD feed to the cable company? Or, will the analog and ADS channels have to be synthesized at Comcast by downconverting the HD broadcasts?

Similarly, how much longer will non-local channels, e.g. CNN continue to create parallel SD and HD content? At some point I imagine they would want to drop the expense of separate feeds.

I would expect that the cable company moves fairly swiftly towards eliminating the analog band, forcing customers into either digital TVs or set top boxes. But, is this not also a short-term solution? At some point it becomes more cost-effective to do the downconversion to SD in the set top box (for the dwindling number of non-HD TVs), and re-claim the redundant ADS channels as well.

I suppose the final phase is when broadcasters stop worrying about creating a "4:3 safe" signal, and the newscasters get to sit nearer the edges of the screen :)

FYI for Tivo owners, Tivo just launched a beta of their mobile site. Allows you to search and schedule shows from your phone's web browser. http://m.tivo.com

So, what happens in February when the OTA analog goes away? Supposedly this does not result in a change for cable customers. But, presumably for now it is the OTA analog/SD feed that drives the cable analog channels and is digitized to create the parallel ADS feeds. Will the TV stations continue to supply an SD feed to the cable company? Or, will the analog and ADS channels have to be synthesized at Comcast by downconverting the HD broadcasts?

Similarly, how much longer will non-local channels, e.g. CNN continue to create parallel SD and HD content? At some point I imagine they would want to drop the expense of separate feeds.

I would expect that the cable company moves fairly swiftly towards eliminating the analog band, forcing customers into either digital TVs or set top boxes. But, is this not also a short-term solution? At some point it becomes more cost-effective to do the downconversion to SD in the set top box (for the dwindling number of non-HD TVs), and re-claim the redundant ADS channels as well.

I suppose the final phase is when broadcasters stop worrying about creating a "4:3 safe" signal, and the newscasters get to sit nearer the edges of the screen :)Comcast does not receive the current analog SD channels from local broadcasters over the air. Most local channels feed Comcast by fiber optics. In the bay area, there is fiber to Sutro Tower and Comcast picks up many of them there. Some of them may have been analog over fiber (which is a weird concept to me) and the transmission methods may be changing (like SD downconversion from HD programming) but in any case they are totally independent of the analog broadcast shutdown in February.

I think Comcast going all-digital is a good idea but I understand why they are hesitant to do it. No matter how many flyers they mail to customers telling them about this kind of change, many people will be mad and confused anyway.

- Mike

Even with the Digital Starter package, I was seeing all the new channels early this morning, including Encore. Though my dad, who also has the starter package, said that Fox Business went to "unauthorized" around 10:30am. Won't be able to confirm till I get home.

Read that Travel HD was to be a part of the upgrade, but it's a no-show. Would gladly trade E! HD for Travel HD.

Anyone recently tried to get a multi-month discount on Digital Preferred from a CSR? Last time I tried, they wouldn't budge -- just trying to give Comcast as little $ as possible. Digital Preferred not worth the extra $15/month for me.

Enjoy the new channels. Cheers.

I checked for the new channels this morning in Alameda - nothing. Any ideas when we should expect new HD channels? Thanks.

Ouch!!! Had all those new channels show up in TV Guide last night and up until an hour ago (of course with the usual channel will be available shortly message when tried to tune to any of these)... Something must have happened - now TV Guide has resorted back to its old content... no more new HD channels... This is Fremont area. Anyone else notice this reset/rollback ?

You mean this was all a tease??? :eek:

When I first tried this morning (in Fremont), for most of the new channels, the TiVo was listing the channel's call sign, and said it was waiting for a signal. Now, if I attempt to manually switch the TiVo to any of the new channels, I get a generic "To be announced" message in the status bar and no call sign, which looks about the same as any other unassigned channel number.

So is it official that we're being screwed in Fremont?

Comcast does not receive the current analog SD channels from local broadcasters over the air. Most local channels feed Comcast by fiber optics. In the bay area, there is fiber to Sutro Tower and Comcast picks up many of them there. Some of them may have been analog over fiber (which is a weird concept to me) and the transmission methods may be changing (like SD downconversion from HD programming) but in any case they are totally independent of the analog broadcast shutdown in February.

I think Comcast going all-digital is a good idea but I understand why they are hesitant to do it. No matter how many flyers they mail to customers telling them about this kind of change, many people will be mad and confused anyway.

- Mike
Comcast is not going all digital, for now. The last official word from Comcast was that the basic tier would remain analog for now and that the extended basic and above would be digital. IMHO, I believe that Comcast should drop all analog, just like everyone else has, and be done with it. Free up some bandwidth so more channels can be add in ALL the areas and not have to worry whether or not your area has the bandwidth for new channels. Does this sound familiar to anyone ( 550 MHz areas all over again :eek: ) ??

In time this will occur and they will eventually drop all analog and go all digital, just not soon enough for some of us :rolleyes:

Laters,
Mikef5

So is it official that we're being screwed in Fremont?

I'm waiting for an answer from Mr. J. on the official word on this and as soon as I get the OK to post I will.

Laters,
Mikef5

IMHO, I believe that Comcast should drop all analog, just like everyone else has, and be done with it. Free up some bandwidth so more channels can be add in ALL the areas and not have to worry whether or not your area has the bandwidth for new channels. Does this sound familiar to anyone ( 550 MHz areas all over again :eek: ) ??

In time this will occur and they will eventually drop all analog and go all digital, just not soon enough for some of us :rolleyes:


Agreed Mike. When I look at the rapidly expanding HD channel lineup for Chicago and especially Boston, I can only feel ill. Getting multiples of the Premium stations is a big plus and goes a long way towards making the cost of the Digital Premier package seem more reasonable. It also provides a more viable comparison to Direct's HD offerings. I hope that Comcast realizes that, if after 2/09, we see little progress in the addition of HD channels, it won't exactly be a big incentive to stay and continue to pay top prices for a Premium channel selection that is still SD-loaded.

The new channels are on here in Martinez. I get the ones that are on the Digital Starter package and the others are listed but unauthorized or subscription in the case of Encore HD. Some programming was actually HD.

A few new channels on up here in Santa Rosa. Just checked and I have Bravo, FX, QVC :mad:, E!, Fox News, CNBC and Cartoon. No Speed, Hallmark, Fox Business. Not that I need those anyway. Still would have liked Travel or Spike.

No new HD channels here in South San Francisco :mad:

Channels seem to be up in Menlo Park. Just checked Cartoon and FX from my slingbox at work.

Nothing in Redwood Shores...

Looking through the last few pages of post, I may see the answer to this question - but will ask anyway.

I am in South San Jose and run my cable directly into the back of my HD TV. Until last night I was getting all the network channels (FOX, PBS, CBS, NBC, etc) in HD. However, FOX and KPIX no longer are coming in. With the new channel lineup, it looks like a HD box is going to be required.

Is anyone else set up in the same configuration and experiencing the same thing?
Do a rescan of your Tv, they might have moved the channel frequencies in your area and a rescan should find the channels but they will not be at the frequency numbers that you might think. Fox may not be at 2-1 but at 54-1, that's just an possible example and not based on fact of the actual frequency. Hope that helps :).

Laters,
Mikef5

Thanks Mikef5 - I had tried that - and was still expecting them on 2-1 and 5-1. With the wife breathing down my neck (and her in control of the remote) I didn't get to channel surf looking for them. However, I did read some previous posts a little closer and saw that someone found KPIX on 78-1...I found KTVU was found on 78-2

I had contacted Comcast about the change and they said I was getting the HD cahnnels from over the air. I informed them I was on cable, hence the call, and didn't have an antenna....their only advice was that I couldn't be getting these HD cahannels without a box and that I should get one.

As an odd side note - at the same time my channel 50 (TLC) went out...when on the phone with Comcast it mysteriously came back on

To make it easier for those scanning threads -

KTVU = 78-1
KPIX = 78-2

Thanks Mikef5 - I had tried that - and was still expecting them on 2-1 and 5-1. With the wife breathing down my neck (and her in control of the remote) I didn't get to channel surf looking for them. However, I did read some previous posts a little closer and saw that someone found KPIX on 78-1...I found KTVU was found on 78-2

I had contacted Comcast about the change and they said I was getting the HD cahnnels from over the air. I informed them I was on cable, hence the call, and didn't have an antenna....their only advice was that I couldn't be getting these HD cahannels without a box and that I should get one.

As an odd side note - at the same time my channel 50 (TLC) went out...when on the phone with Comcast it mysteriously came back on

To make it easier for those scanning threads -

KTVU = 78-1
KPIX = 78-2

What's probably happening is that the PSIP data is being stripped from the data stream ( channels ) that Comcast is sending to you so you are seeing the actual frequency of the channel. Also, the CSR is wrong about receiving the local HD channels, you do not need a box for those channels. They are not encrypted and are required to be sent that way. Once things settle down they will probably correct this and the channels will shift back to where they were.

Laters,
Mikef5

I'm waiting for an answer from Mr. J. on the official word on this and as soon as I get the OK to post I will.

Laters,
Mikef5

Mikef5,

I rarely post in this thread but whenever I'm here you're always a wealth of info. Thanks for your participation.

Nothing new showing here in Berkeley.
Anybody know when to expect the additions?

The new HD channels kicked in sometime yesterday morning in Vallejo. How about QVC in stunning HD? What a great addition to the lineup! It will, no doubt, now be touted in one of Comcast's "we have more HD programming than satellite" ads.:p

All the new channels seem to be active on my Tivo S3. However, the guide hasn't been updated yet, only Cartoon Network is recognized. Anyone know when the update will happen? I want to move my Clone Wars recording to HD.

Mountain View, 94041 - Nothing new here and not showing up on my guide which I expected since my area was on the list.

For those of you getting the new channels, what frequencies are they at? I am wondering where all that capacity is coming from...

For those of you getting the new channels, what frequencies are they at? I am wondering where all that capacity is coming from...

They have removed 77 and 75. as such I think they had space even before. For many channels, it is not just the frequency space they need to worry about.. contracts with content providers, roll out, etc would be big factors too.

No new channels in Petaluma.

To make it easier for those scanning threads -

KTVU = 78-1
KPIX = 78-2

I was wondering what was going on. I still subscribe to basic analog cable but tune in the unencrypted digital channels with a Samsung box. Digital channels 2-1 and 5-1 disappeared. I tried rescanning several times, that's worked in the past, but still no KTVU or KPIX. Now I know where to look for them. Hopefully something will reset and things will be back to normal.

There's also a phantom 11-1 and 11-2, not sure what Comcast shows on them. The Samsung tunes in (2) 11-1's and 11-2's. Only the second one for each actually tunes in something, the regular KNTV content and then there's a KNTV weather channel.

Just checked my box. Digital channels KTVU channel 2 is on 78-2 and KPIX channel 5 is on 78-1.

Checking on 11/26 in Foster City : new channels seem to be working!
(thought FC was to be excluded?), but I am seeing OK on Tivo (but no guide data):

733 BravoHD
741 FXHD - FX HD
745 QVCHD - QVC HD
746 HGTVD - HGTV HD
753 E!TV HD
766 Cartoon network HD
775 encore HD

I don't get 731 speedHD, but I don't subscribe.

etc. (most of the HD news channels seem to be on also, didn't bother checking in detail.)

The guide says "to be announced" for schedule, and ??? for channel names, except it DOES know Cartoon HD for some reason... hope a good sign Tivo is in middle of updating.


I don't know channels for hallmark or Travel HD yet, Travel would be my biggest preference
OK, found Hallmark on 749, it works...

where is TravelHD? :-(

All the new channels seem to be active on my Tivo S3. However, the guide hasn't been updated yet, only Cartoon Network is recognized. Anyone know when the update will happen? I want to move my Clone Wars recording to HD.

I just called Tivo and they checked and have no record of any new channel lineups from Tribune Media Services (who supplies the guide data). She put in a request and said it could take up to 5 business days -- I'm hoping it will be quicker.

Checking on 11/26 in Foster City : new channels seem to be working!
(thought FC was to be excluded?), but I am seeing OK on Tivo (but no guide data):

733 BravoHD
741 FXHD - FX HD
745 QVCHD - QVC HD
746 HGTVD - HGTV HD
753 E!TV HD
766 Cartoon network HD
775 encore HD

...

Yep, the new channels are available in Sunnyvale 94086 as well through TivoHD (no guide data)

I also noticed that the HSI download speed has almost doubled to around 16 Mbps. My modem's config file is sb5101 silver tier.

Strange thing here, my Sony dvr tunes KTVU and KPIX ok on chans 2.1 and 5.1 but the Philips plasma can't tune them in now. Tunes in ok on 78.1 and 78.2.

Sunnyvale got all the new channels. Now good luck to me watching Hallmark and Encore since they are carried on 849MHz chan with my apartment/wiring being 35+ years old. Anyone know the procedure to update my drop line ? I will try calling Comcast again, not that at least I can show them -- hallmark can't even get a picture, its all pixels.

PS. Not nice, fxhd has east and west feeds - no chance to watch stuff early :\

The hullabaloo about the new HD channels that don't seem to be in about half the Bay Area will have many of us, no doubt, thinking again about the switch to a satellite provider. While it's hard for me to imagine a DVR crappier than your basic Comcast Motorola box, about an hour of surfing on the web has turned up a fair bit of grumpiness about the DirecTV models. I'd love to hear about how our local users (Keenan?) compare the different available DVRs and service packages. For me, it seems like the option is:

1. Comcast: Fewer HD channels; three-packing and poor video quality on some channels; non three-packing and better video on some channels of interest (e.g, CSN-BA-HD); crappy Motorola DVR.

2. DirecTV: More channels; have to invest in a dish; better PQ on MPEG-4 channels but not as good as a non-three-packed Comcast channel; questionnable DVR; best HD sports packages (e.g, NFL Sunday package, MLB Extra Innings).

3. Dish: Best DVR, not sure about PQ, no HD sports packages.

The HD sports packages are an intriguing thing to me--something that might push me into DirecTV come the spring when Extra Innings starts up again. 90% of my baseball viewing will be the Giants (color me masochistic) but when I want to watch an out of the market game, I'm not going to pay $175/yr to see some crappy low-def feed on Comcast. OnDemand isn't a big deal to me--I've never been impressed by the PQ, and for some stupid reason they don't have HBO-HD available through that mechanism.

I didn't have the Comcast DVR because I wasn't willing to upgrade from basic cable.

The Comcast DVR had more limited hard drives and the UI on their regular HD boxes sucked.

Plus they charge more per monthly just for the DVR and you have to subscribe to Digital Silver, which is like $60. Add premiums and it's ridiculous.

Well, we got all the new channels here in the san mateo county system, and Redwood City too I understand. This was surprising since we were on the list of cities NOT getting them. I wonder if someone just screwed up on listing the cities.

Which cities here can confirm the STB does NOT show any new channels as of today?

Livermore does not have them.

Does Berkeley have them yet? (I'm out of town now, but will be back in a week.) TIA

Hi everyone,

New to the forum. I saw someone mention that Foster City had the new HD channels.

I'm in the city of San Mateo, but don't have the channels. Does anyone living here have them? Do you need a specific package to get them?

Thanks

Mill Valley (San Rafael head end, Southern Marin County) does NOT have the new channels.

I also have the Hallmark Movie Channel on # 749. Anybody else have that? I am having a heck of the time trying to figure out the feed of the time zone.

I wish they would have moved Sundance or the IFC Channel instead, to the new HD lineup. Do we really need 3-4 Business Channels in HD?

I am on the Daly City Feed.

Cheers.

Well, we got all the new channels here in the san mateo county system, and Redwood City too I understand. This was surprising since we were on the list of cities NOT getting them. I wonder if someone just screwed up on listing the cities.

Which cities here can confirm the STB does NOT show any new channels as of today?

Redwood Shores doesn't have the new channels, not sure what system it is on...

Hi,

I'm located in Redwood Shores my Headend is in Redwood City. I am not getting the new channels. I called Comcast to ask if I should be getting the new channels. The person told me I qualify to get the new channels. He reset my box twice to see if he force the new channels to no avail. Maybe on the go around when that will be.

John

No new channels in Petaluma or Fairfax (Marin).

For me the biggest issue is simply cost. The dish is free, or I think that's what the $5/mo "lease fee" is for, you don't have to buy the dish itself. Installation is totally free. One "advanced" tuner box is free (ie, HD-DVR). Extra HD boxes are $99. If you only want 1 HD-DVR box and I think up to 5 more non-HD boxes, there is $0 up-front costs. None.

With the 1 year promo offer ($23/mo) I figure I'll save over $400 in the first year, and that's after buying the $99 extra HD box for upstairs.

The only bitch of it is paying more for comcast internet, though I guess I could shop around for DSL or whatever too.

I had basic analog with an HDTV box and high-speed Internet.

I dropped basic analog and now I pay $46.20.

Guess I could save $3 by buying my own modem.

Well, we got all the new channels here in the san mateo county system, and Redwood City too I understand. This was surprising since we were on the list of cities NOT getting them. I wonder if someone just screwed up on listing the cities.

Which cities here can confirm the STB does NOT show any new channels as of today?
no new channels in rossmoor (walnut creek)
milt

I had basic analog with an HDTV box and high-speed Internet.

I dropped basic analog and now I pay $46.20.

Guess I could save $3 by buying my own modem.Well you can't get basic analog with a HDTV box any more, you must have been on some grandfathered package. Currently you have to have one of the Digital packages (which start around $56/mo) to get a HDTV box.

If you have NO type of CATV service at all they are supposed to tack on another $14/mo for internet. Consider yourself lucky, either they forgot :confused:, or your old grandfathered package waives that fee or something...

This is how it breaks down for me:
CATV = $113, HSI $43 = $156/mo. ($1872 / year).
DirecTV = $55, HSI $43+$14 = $57 == $112/mo. ($1344 / year)

$1872-1344 = $528 - but $99 for the 2nd DTV HD receiver = $429 saved in the first year.

After the first year DTV goes up +$23/mo or $78/mo for DTV, + $57 for HSI = $135/mo = $21/month savings = $252/year.

The hullabaloo about the new HD channels that don't seem to be in about half the Bay Area will have many of us, no doubt, thinking again about the switch to a satellite provider. While it's hard for me to imagine a DVR crappier than your basic Comcast Motorola box, about an hour of surfing on the web has turned up a fair bit of grumpiness about the DirecTV models. I'd love to hear about how our local users (Keenan?) compare the different available DVRs and service packages. For me, it seems like the option is:

1. Comcast: Fewer HD channels; three-packing and poor video quality on some channels; non three-packing and better video on some channels of interest (e.g, CSN-BA-HD); crappy Motorola DVR.

2. DirecTV: More channels; have to invest in a dish; better PQ on MPEG-4 channels but not as good as a non-three-packed Comcast channel; questionnable DVR; best HD sports packages (e.g, NFL Sunday package, MLB Extra Innings).

3. Dish: Best DVR, not sure about PQ, no HD sports packages.

The HD sports packages are an intriguing thing to me--something that might push me into DirecTV come the spring when Extra Innings starts up again. 90% of my baseball viewing will be the Giants (color me masochistic) but when I want to watch an out of the market game, I'm not going to pay $175/yr to see some crappy low-def feed on Comcast. OnDemand isn't a big deal to me--I've never been impressed by the PQ, and for some stupid reason they don't have HBO-HD available through that mechanism.

I think most all of this has been hashed over before. You're pretty much on the money with all your points. The D* DVR, while it's not a TiVo, it's miles better than the Comcast Moto box. On a scale of 1-10, with the Moto being a 1 and the TiVo being a 10, I'd rate the D* box around a 7. It's far more versatile than the Moto box and with external drives getting below $100 adding 1TB of storage is a no brainer which is something you can't even do with the Moto at any cost. DirecTV also has a new MRV app they're working on right now which also allows for PC viewing, the first incarnation didn't work so well in my opinion, far too resource intensive.

As far as programming, DirecTV is the clear winner in the HD dept, actually in any dept. When it comes to sports, again, DirecTV is clearly at the top of the heap.

Internet's an issue although there are alternatives. I believe SF is one of the cities where Sonic has rolled out their ADSL2+ service, I think the numbers are like 20mb/s down and 2-3mb/s up, and I think it's around $40 a month, not sure about those figures. As I've mentioned before, I have the 16mb/s service with Comcast and due to the price difference between with or without cable TV service I actually get my cable TV service(including local HD) for "free". During a non-sports subscription month(no ST, MM, MLBEI,etc) my total bill is around $170, but that includes HSI and 4 different tuners for recording at the same time. Plus, with D* many of the "cable" channels have the east coast feed which makes conflict resolution easier.

Also, with the TiVo S3 I use with Comcast I can order Dominos Pizza by just using my remote control, TiVo really is the one true DVR god. :D

P.S. DirecTV will have a TiVo, or TiVo based DVR late in 2009 which adds a point in the D* plus column.

WRT picture quality, I haven't seen any of the 3-pak Comcast channels so I can't make a comparison, but to be honest, with HD quality generally dropping from all sources, the quality on D* is just fine for me, and in some cases quite stunning. Some of the stuff I've seen I'm not sure how it could be any better unless I was in the same room as the actors while it was being shot. Stargate:Atlantis on SciFi has had some spectacular image quality. I'm beginning to believe that image quality is more about the source now than at anytime in the past, if the quality is there from the creator, you'll get it on your screen, comparing BSG to Stargate is a good example, it's more about the choices made in creating the material than it is about what provider is sending it you.

If you want lots of HD channels and lots of sports, then D* is the only real choice, and the DVR is more than capable, remember that while you see lots of complaints about the DVR, it's usually only those that have problems that do all the posting, those that have no issues at all never post anything. I'm not saying it's prefect, as it's not, but it's never really given me any major issues that I can recall. One good thing(or bad depending on how you look at it) is that DirecTV is constantly working on the DVR software/firmware and have updates quite regularly with a large beta tester community that tests new versions almost every 2-3 weeks. How often does Moto/Comcast push out new fixes/updates to their boxes?

I don't know, if your budget can swing it, keep Comcast while you try out DirecTV for a few weeks/months, you might even decide to keep Comcast for the HSI and a Limited Basic sub as I do, I'm pretty happy with the combination.

Just a few of my dwindling pennies worth of wisdom. :D

Well you can't get basic analog with a HDTV box any more, you must have been on some grandfathered package. Currently you have to have one of the Digital packages (which start around $56/mo) to get a HDTV box.

If you have NO type of CATV service at all they are supposed to tack on another $14/mo for internet. Consider yourself lucky, either they forgot :confused:, or your old grandfathered package waives that fee or something...

This is how it breaks down for me:
CATV = $113, HSI $43 = $156/mo. ($1872 / year).
DirecTV = $55, HSI $43+$14 = $57 == $112/mo. ($1344 / year)

$1872-1344 = $528 - but $99 for the 2nd DTV HD receiver = $429 saved in the first year.

After the first year DTV goes up +$23/mo or $78/mo for DTV, + $57 for HSI = $135/mo = $21/month savings = $252/year.

Interesting breakdown. It's good you were able to put together the "after first year" price. I've tried to find this on D* website iin the past with no luck. The interesting thing is the first-year difference between the actual cable packages...$113 vs. $55. Which packages (both Comcast and D*) did you use for comparison?

Well you can't get basic analog with a HDTV box any more, you must have been on some grandfathered package. Currently you have to have one of the Digital packages (which start around $56/mo) to get a HDTV box.

No, you DON'T need a digital package to get a HD box. It's even specified on the price list dated last month.

I have Comcast Digital "Classic" - I think it's an old package but I basically get every HD channel except NFL and the premiums. Plus one DVR, plus one "additional outlet" HD box upstairs. It's about $110/mo. when you total everything..

The DirecTV package for comparison the "Choice Xtra +HD-DVR" $50/mo, plus locals for $3 and I threw in the $5 HD "extra" pack which includes MHD/Palladia and UHD both of which I want, so $58/mo. This package also has the NFL channel at no extra cost (COMCAST!)

The promo price is listed on the checkout cart, it's "additional discount" $5 and $18 "online redemption" or $23/mo. So after the first year it goes up +$23 or $81/mo actually.

Well if they raised it, I would have dropped them.

I don't know why they haven't.

But with the cap and no USENET, I was looking for a reason.

That said, I get 11 Mbps/3 Mbps here while an unprotected Wifi network showed that AT&T DSL was getting like 3 Mpbs/300 kbps for a neighbor here.

But I would live with the slower speed if we're talking at least $25 less per month.

First Month's Bill

PLUS HD DVR— Locals Included $72.99
DIRECTV HD EXTRA PACK Monthly $4.99
Lease Fee $4.99
HD Access $0.00
$9.99/mo. credit for HD Access for 3 months -$9.99 (??)
Total:* $72.98
Additional Discount -$5.00
Online redemption -$18.00
Total:* $49.98
*Final Monthly Total includes a $23 bill credit per month for 12 consecutive months after online or call-in rebate.
I took out the stuff about free HBO/etc for 3 months ($35 - $35)
Actually I guess it's $50 for the first 3 months, then $60 after. That's uhh.. $690 for the 1st year. Plus $99 equipment cost for the 2nd HD box = $790. vs Comcast = $1356.
Even with $14/mo more for HSI ($168) = $398 savings in the 1st year.
Then $83/mo after 1st year ($996/year) plus $168 = $1164 vs $1356 Comcast = $192/year savings.
(whew)

$590 in the first 2 years. $15 ea case of beer = 39 cases of beer. 8)

I have Comcast Digital "Classic" - I think it's an old package but I basically get every HD channel except NFL and the premiums. Plus one DVR, plus one "additional outlet" HD box upstairs. It's about $110/mo. when you total everything..

The DirecTV package for comparison the "Choice Xtra +HD-DVR" $50/mo, plus locals for $3 and I threw in the $5 HD "extra" pack which includes MHD/Palladia and UHD both of which I want, so $58/mo. This package also has the NFL channel at no extra cost (COMCAST!)

The promo price is listed on the checkout cart, it's "additional discount" $5 and $18 "online redemption" or $23/mo. So after the first year it goes up +$23 or $81/mo actually.
HD locals are "free" with DirecTV, there's no extra charge for them.

No, you DON'T need a digital package to get a HD box. It's even specified on the price list dated last month.

You do to get a HD-DVR though, in fact, that's why I told Comcast to put their digital package and HD-DVR where the sun doesn't shine and went with a TiVo.

What is the monthly rate of the MotoDVR now, like $15-$16 a month? That's ridiculous for such a mediocre piece of equipment.

BTW, for those who are interested in a TiVo, they've got some pretty darn good prices on re-furbs. For a TiVo-HD, $179, not a bad price at all.

https://www3.tivo.com/store/boxes.do?type=renewed

Yeah, HD-DVR (DCT-3412, though I could swap it for a DCH-3416 I guess) is $15.95/mo.
I also (stupidly) pay $7 + 6.99 (-$3.50 generous credit) or $10.49/mo for a HD box for the bedroom TV (DCT-6200).

My Comcast bill by comparison
Comcast Cable Television $ 103.34
Comcast High Speed Internet $ 42.95
Taxes, Surcharges and Fees $ 8.31

Payment Due Date AUTOPAY $ 154.60

Digital Preferred 16.95
Includes: Digital Classic, Music Choice,
Digital Converter and Remote, if
applicable.
12/5 - 1/4 Standard Cable 59.95
Includes: Limited Basic and Expanded
Basic Service
12/5 - 1/4 DVR Service With HDTV 15.95
12/5 - 1/4 HDTV Additional Service 7.00
12/5 - 1/4 Digital Addl Outlet 6.99
Includes: Digital Converter and Remote,
if applicable.
12/5 - 1/4 T-dap A/O $3.49x12 -3.50

The $8+ in taxes for CATV, I assume they don't apply to HSI... SO that's $103.34 + 8.31 = $111.65/mo. for CATV.

boooo...

no new channels in fremont as well... what the heck man?

sigh...

oh wait...

mojo lists OFF AIR on the guide around noon monday...

maybe monday nite?????

Keenan,

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. I surfed the web for about an hour or so and was frustrated by the lack of good comparative information about these choices. Lots of details, scattered about, concerning the separate options. But not much real side-by-side comparison.

Despite the Forum profile, I am in Mill Valley (just work in SF), and hence any modern land-based advances (ADSL2, FiOS, etc.) won't be here for years. I get my DSL from AT&T and am too lazy to change my old pacbell.net internet address.

As to the HD quality issue, having lived with the three-packing for awhile now, I agree and disagree with your analysis. Agree that a lot of the complaining is probably in fact about the source material--BSG being the best example, particularly the moaning about graininess and the like. But once the three-packing started, there were many noticeable problems, particularly with fast action/pans, where one could easily see the equivalent of dropped frames or MPEG artifacts where the effective data rate couldn't catch up with what was happening on-screen. I think there was some expectation that, as Comcast fine-tuned their technology, the situation would get better. Personally, I'm dubious--they can't possibly intend to do the equivalent of the kind of bit-rate encoding that goes on when a digital master is laid-down for disc. I meant to see if the situation had improved when Universal-HD re-ran the last season of BSG. But I recorded the shows and never quite got around to watching them. So I don't know if it's improved.

I also think that BSG probably draws a lot of attention because the "artistic choices" may make it particularly hard for Comcast's bit-squeezing technology. Could it be that all that dark/graininess/etc. accentuates the problems?

In any event, I expect that D* is in my future. I don't much see the point of retaining even basic-level Comcast, since I don't need it to get a HSI package and with FSN-BA now on the satellites my reason to have it is gone. I suppose I lose any local KQED programming that is not on the PBS satellite feed. But I can't remember the last time I watched a local KQED show.

If, in fact, the latest HD-non-add for Marin County pushed me over the edge to D*, it would be pretty funny. I can't imagine that I'd really watch ANY of the new channels that much. It's just one last thing, though, that builds on my frustration with Comcast generally, piling on from the three-packing, months of failures to get them to broadcast BIG-10 and Palladia-HD in a way that can be received, and all the annoying phony ads about "more HD choices."

Thanks for taking the time to break it down for me.

Tom

FYI, you can't get any PBS content in HD on D* yet.

In response to Tom Koegel's post, I'm a Dish Network subscriber, and have been for a number of years. Their DVR is wonderful... I've had it for almost two years and it hasn't failed me yet. I can record three HD channels at once... two from the satellite and one OTA... while playing back two previously recorded shows on two TVs, if I wish. It has pause, rewind and fast forward at various speeds, skip back 10 seconds, skip forward 30 seconds, and a 1 hour buffer of live TV.

As for quality, I see little difference between the OTA signal and what I get from the satellite, so quality should not be a problem for you.

The only disadvantage would be the sports programming. I'm not a big sports fan, so it doesn't matter to me, but for those who watch a lot of games, DirecTV might be better. Dish does offer sports packages, including the local Bay Area sports channel, but I'm not familiar with the details.

I just wanted to confirm that the Dish DVR is great, and the quality of the HD picture is fine. My total cost for 50 HD channels, including four HD locals, plus several SD channels is $47 a month.

Larry
SF

I agree with Larry about the Dish DVR, apart from the TiVo S3 I use with Comcast, that DVR from Dish is great, easily the best HD-DVR of all the provider supplied equipment I've used(Comcast, DirecTV, Star Choice and Dish). I left Dish several months ago, but I still miss that DVR, rock solid and snappy/responsive as all get out.

The new HD channel rollout happened late last week? It seems that since that happened my internet speeds went all to hell, barely getting around 6mb/s down and maybe a 1/10th of the upload speed I used to get.

Anyone else in Santa Rosa notice this? My guess is that there's a load balance problem, and that's something that customer service would have absolutely no clue about so to say I'm extremely reluctant to waste my time calling them would be an understatement. I do have the number for the contractor that did the upgrade here, which I'm calling on Mon, but I'm not sure they're still in the area.

Just to chime on on the 3pak quality, I purposely viewed another rerun of the RHCP Milan concert on Palladia that I had seen before, both prior to the 3pak and just after they started doing it.

In this thread, this was one of the examples I had used when complaining about the 3pak quality previously. Long story short it's gotten much better. It's still not quite to where it was before if I had to guess but it seems very close. I bring this up because the source is the same in this case. Completely subjective but I have a pretty good eye for this type of thing. There were none of the multicolored artifacts with movement or extra noise that was documented by multiple people and that I had seen myself just after they began the higher compression scheme.

they claim kqed is breathing hard for directv broadcast. the bird has been up
for a while now but they havent turned it on enough to show PBS :(
though your comment about a PBS satellite feed interests me. I have
yet to find any such PBS national feed, especially in HD...

Keenan,

In any event, I expect that D* is in my future. I don't much see the point of retaining even basic-level Comcast, since I don't need it to get a HSI package and with FSN-BA now on the satellites my reason to have it is gone. I suppose I lose any local KQED programming that is not on the PBS satellite feed. But I can't remember the last time I watched a local KQED show.

Tom

The new channels are available in Benicia, but for some reason, TiVo doesn't let me do any manual recordings on the stations that don't have any actual guide data (even though the channel appears in the guide's channel list).

-- Don

I'm waiting for an answer from Mr. J. on the official word on this and as soon as I get the OK to post I will.

Laters,
Mikef5
Mike, any word yet from Mr. J?

It looks like Comcast switched 740 - MOJO HD to 723 - VERSUS HD. Channel 723 doesn't look like it's receiving the HD feed because when I compared it to 722 - Golf/Versus HD, the NHL game tonight was correctly showing it in HD on 722.

My Comcast DVR is listing 723 as GOLFD.

actually in the part of the bay area where i live (which i won't disclose on the internet - call me silly but it's just the way i am) 722 (VSGLF) and 723 (GOLFHD) were showing the exact same rocky movie at the same time tonight even though the EPG said 722 had rocky and 723 had golf tips.

The new channels are available in Benicia, but for some reason, TiVo doesn't let me do any manual recordings on the stations that don't have any actual guide data (even though the channel appears in the guide's channel list).

-- Don

Manual recording should work. Make sure the channels are selected on the Channel List.

boo...

in fremont...

lost MOJO... but no new channels...

Have you heard back from Tivo? Given the holidays I would guess late this week to get the Tribune updates. Even TVGUIDE.com doesn't have the channels yet.

Does Berkeley have them yet? (I'm out of town now, but will be back in a week.) TIA
I'm in Berkeley and am not receiving any of the new channels.

Have you heard back from Tivo? Given the holidays I would guess late this week to get the Tribune updates. Even TVGUIDE.com doesn't have the channels yet.

Tivo said last week it can take 5-7 business days to get the update. So yeah, with the holidays it could be early next week till we see them.

Mike, any word yet from Mr. J?

Nothing yet, but it's the holidays ( everyone needs some time off once in a while :) ) and I'm sure once he gets back he'll update us. I've never had a problem with him not answering our questions, so I'll give him a couple of days before I bug him again.

Laters,
Mikef5

wondering if its been fixed for anyone else? prior to the HD upgrade my new XBR6's QAM tuner was able to find and properly map all the OTA channels (well, except for KNTV/NBC which showed up at 11.1 and 11.2), including KTVU 2.1 and KPIX 5.1... after the upgrade they both got broken and, checking this morning, they're still broken...

any advice as to who i might notify within comcast? (pretty sure a first level CSR won't really be in a position to do much)... or more patience? (yah, i open my christmas presents the night-before, too!)

cheers
robin

What's probably happening is that the PSIP data is being stripped from the data stream ( channels ) that Comcast is sending to you so you are seeing the actual frequency of the channel. <snip> Once things settle down they will probably correct this and the channels will shift back to where they were.

Laters,
Mikef5

Tivo said last week it can take 5-7 business days to get the update. So yeah, with the holidays it could be early next week till we see them.

To add to what Fender said. Since the areas that got the updated channels are different in different areas, everyone that has a Tivo needs to let them know that there has been a channel change and let them know what area you are in.

I don't know who is suppose to let Tivo know about these channel changes but it surely shouldn't be the customer. I pay for the guide to be up to date and accurate and I'm not paid to update it for them but here lately that seems to be the norm. :rolleyes:

Laters,
Mikef5

This is pretty bad on Tivo's part. Tivo device has information that there are new channels (from CableCard). Ideally it should automatically trigger some interaction between Guide provider and Tivo.. a huge portion of this could be automated. Depending on customer to call them is pretty ridiculous.

they claim kqed is breathing hard for directv broadcast. the bird has been up
for a while now but they havent turned it on enough to show PBS :(
though your comment about a PBS satellite feed interests me. I have
yet to find any such PBS national feed, especially in HD...

Oops . . . sorry for purveying bad information. I just assumed that there must be some PBS feed on the satellites. (Perhaps I convinced myself since there is an NPR feed on Sirius?) In any event, a quick surf of the web reveals that there is no national feed and that DirecTV hasn't picked up KQED here . . . notwithstanding the "in the next year" language in a bunch of December 2007 press releases and media articles such as this one:

December 19, 2007 DirecTV PBS News Article (http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6514414.html)

Can't quite figure out what the reference to the digital-analog cutover date has to do with the availability of bandwidth on the satellite, since I presume that analog broadcasts are converted to digital prior to broadcasting and wouldn't take up any more bandwidth than a post-Feb. 2009 digital broadcast.

wondering if its been fixed for anyone else? prior to the HD upgrade my new XBR6's QAM tuner was able to find and properly map all the OTA channels (well, except for KNTV/NBC which showed up at 11.1 and 11.2), including KTVU 2.1 and KPIX 5.1... after the upgrade they both got broken and, checking this morning, they're still broken...

any advice as to who i might notify within comcast? (pretty sure a first level CSR won't really be in a position to do much)... or more patience? (yah, i open my christmas presents the night-before, too!)

PSIP is never consistent on Comcast. They can and do change the frequencies around at will. I usually have to do a full re-scan (15-20 minutes) on my Sony tv when I find a channel is missing. As for calling, save your breath, they simply do not care enough to do it right... they want you to rent a receiver from them for $7 after all.

Have you TiVo guys tried to see if there is a different guide lineup? Under the channels list menu at the bottom you can press Enter(I think) to go through a sequence to determine the correct lineup. I had to do this when they added the HD channels up here originally. Not sure if it will work in this case but it might be worth a try, you don't lose any settings/recording setups by doing it.

Have you TiVo guys tried to see if there is a different guide lineup? Under the channels list menu at the bottom you can press Enter(I think) to go through a sequence to determine the correct lineup. I had to do this when they added the HD channels up here originally. Not sure if it will work in this case but it might be worth a try, you don't lose any settings/recording setups by doing it.

Jim, the problem's not that the channels aren't showing up in the guide, it's that the guide shows them with ????? for the channel names and "to be announced" in the guide programing synopsis. You have to let Tivo know that new channels have been added in your area so that the guide will show the programing data for those channels. This should happen automatically and not by relying on the customer do the leg work for them. As I said before, I pay for that guide data and I shouldn't have to do the updating for them, unless they want to pay me for doing that for them ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

When I checked on Sunday, nothing was showing up as far as the new channels go...no channel assignment, no data, nothing. Am I alone here?

When I checked on Sunday, nothing was showing up as far as the new channels go...no channel assignment, no data, nothing. Am I alone here?

Fender,

There were some areas that, as of yet, have not gotten the new channels. I'm not sure if your area was one of them or not but there were quite a few of them. I'm stilling waiting for an official response from Comcast about this problem. When I get the answer, I'll post it here.

Laters,
Mikef5

Jim, the problem's not that the channels aren't showing up in the guide, it's that the guide shows them with ????? for the channel names and "to be announced" in the guide programing synopsis. You have to let Tivo know that new channels have been added in your area so that the guide will show the programing data for those channels. This should happen automatically and not by relying on the customer do the leg work for them. As I said before, I pay for that guide data and I shouldn't have to do the updating for them, unless they want to pay me for doing that for them ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

I hear you, it was just a thought, I went a few weeks with the channels having no guide data until I did a lineup change, turns out the info was there all along.

You're saying the new channels have "?????" for names? Doesn't look that way on my system, they all have proper names.

See if you can find the program info here:
http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCGrid.do

If so, TiVo *should* pick it up.

I hear you, it was just a thought, I went a few weeks with the channels having no guide data until I did a lineup change, turns out the info was there all along.

You're saying the new channels have "?????" for names? Doesn't look that way on my system, they all have proper names.

Jim, I'll give you an example. Channel 733 does say 733 but where it should say BravoHD it has ????? in it's place and next to that it says To be announced and in the program synopsis it says nothing.

The last time this happened I had to fill in the form on the Tivo site to let them know that there had been a channel change and I had to tell them what was suppose to be there. In other words, I did their job.

Just so we're clear on what I'm saying, I get the channels, I can view those channels, but I don't get the program data which means I can't do auto recordings or the normal things that you can do when the guide is properly updated with all the proper data filled in. If Comcast had done this people would be screaming bloody murder about how incompetent they are for not upgrading their guide data, so I'm not giving Tivo a pass on this.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Tivo, I'm just tired of doing their job every time there is a channel change and still having to pay for it. If this was a free service then you get what you pay for but it's not.

Laters,
Mikef5

See if you can find the program info here:
http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCGrid.do

If so, TiVo *should* pick it up.

C3,

I just checked the Zap2it site for my area code, and it is updated properly. So if they can get the data right, what's the problem with Tivo not getting it right ?? I'm not going to type in 12 new channels with all the proper data into Tivo's online form, that's their job and they need to get off their butts and do more than just collect my monthly fee. Anyway, thanks for the link to Zap2it at least I can see the data that I need so I can at least do manual recordings :rolleyes:

Laters,
Mikef5

Jim, I'll give you an example. Channel 733 does say 733 but where it should say BravoHD it has ????? in it's place and next to that it says To be announced and in the program synopsis it says nothing.

The last time this happened I had to fill in the form on the Tivo site to let them know that there had been a channel change and I had to tell them what was suppose to be there. In other words, I did their job.

Just so we're clear on what I'm saying, I get the channels, I can view those channels, but I don't get the program data which means I can't do auto recordings or the normal things that you can do when the guide is properly updated with all the proper data filled in. If Comcast had done this people would be screaming bloody murder about how incompetent they are for not upgrading their guide data, so I'm not giving Tivo a pass on this.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Tivo, I'm just tired of doing their job every time there is a channel change and still having to pay for it. If this was a free service then you get what you pay for but it's not.

Laters,
Mikef5

That's odd, on my system all the numbers(733) and names(BRAVOHD are correct, it's just the actual program info that's not there. That's what makes me think trying the guide setup again might help, a little at least. It will ask you a series of questions to determine which lineup is appropriate for your area.

That Zap2it site doesn't show 733/Bravo for my area, I didn't check any of the others, and that would explain why there's no program info for that channel, but it doesn't explain why the number and name are correct in the TiVo guide. Weird.

I had a problem where a lineup gave me an incorrect station name for KQEDHD (showed up as KQEDH), and as a result, there was no program data for channel 709. Changing the lineup by running the Guided Setup again fixed the problem.

just got home and my tivo s3 told me there was a lineup change... the message only mentioned one channel (not an HD channel) change, but all the new HD channels are listed and showing program listings.

cheers
robin

Fender,

There were some areas that, as of yet, have not gotten the new channels. I'm not sure if your area was one of them or not but there were quite a few of them. I'm stilling waiting for an official response from Comcast about this problem. When I get the answer, I'll post it here.

Laters,
Mikef5

Sorry...should have been more specific. I am getting the new channels -- they show up fine on the Comcast box. It's the Tivo that doesn't have anything in the guide -- no channels or channel information. Just checked and it's still not showing up. I can, however, manually go to the channel on the S3 and it shows up fine.

And zap2it doesn't show any of the new channels for my zip. I swear...I get them. :D

That's odd, on my system all the numbers(733) and names(BRAVOHD are correct, it's just the actual program info that's not there. That's what makes me think trying the guide setup again might help, a little at least. It will ask you a series of questions to determine which lineup is appropriate for your area.

That Zap2it site doesn't show 733/Bravo for my area, I didn't check any of the others, and that would explain why there's no program info for that channel, but it doesn't explain why the number and name are correct in the TiVo guide. Weird.
OK Jim, for now on when I have a question about the Tivo I'm coming to you :p. I tried your do the Guide Setup again and now it shows all the channels with all the guide data updated the way it should be, as a matter of fact it shows 755 should be the Travel Channel ( which wasn't added but might be a place holder for a later channel add :confused: ). Why that worked, I haven't a clue, but it did and I'm a happy camper.... for now ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

I have a Samsung 8-series LCD HDTV. Using HDMI connection from Comcast HD DVR. I am seeing the quality of all the HD channels is pretty bad. Are you guys experiencing the same problem? Before Nov 25, HDT, KQED was so clear! Now between SD and HD (e.g., 002 and 702) there are not much difference! :D

just got home and my tivo s3 told me there was a lineup change... the message only mentioned one channel (not an HD channel) change, but all the new HD channels are listed and showing program listings.

cheers
robin

I got the same message, but list all the new HD channels. Did you scroll down on the message? I'm in San Jose BTW.

I had a problem where a lineup gave me an incorrect station name for KQEDHD (showed up as KQEDH), and as a result, there was no program data for channel 709. Changing the lineup by running the Guided Setup again fixed the problem.

I've had the same thing happen. While almost all the lineups look very similar, there's subtle differences that will make a big difference when it comes to guide data.

OK Jim, for now on when I have a question about the Tivo I'm coming to you :p. I tried your do the Guide Setup again and now it shows all the channels with all the guide data updated the way it should be, as a matter of fact it shows 755 should be the Travel Channel ( which wasn't added but might be a place holder for a later channel add :confused: ). Why that worked, I haven't a clue, but it did and I'm a happy camper.... for now ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

I thought it might. I'm not sure why it worked, but I suspect that as well as adding a channel here and there to an existing guide scheme, I think TiVo also creates new schemes when multiple channels are added, it's that new "scheme" that you need to change to. It's confusing because almost everything will look right with your existing guide, but it's not exactly right and that's what causes the channels to be "missing". :)

I waited almost 3 weeks for guide data on the new channels we got when our system was upgraded to 1GHz. Finally got a TiVo tech on the phone and he talked me through the channel listing setup. As soon as I saw it, I knew that was the problem.

I'll bet most TiVo owners don't even know, or have forgotten, that it's there since you rarely ever have to use the function. I know I had forgotten all about it.

Sorry...should have been more specific. I am getting the new channels -- they show up fine on the Comcast box. It's the Tivo that doesn't have anything in the guide -- no channels or channel information. Just checked and it's still not showing up. I can, however, manually go to the channel on the S3 and it shows up fine.

Try the channel listing setup query like I mentioned to Mikef5, you'll find it mentioned in small print at the bottom of the channel list page in setup. It will ask you a series of questions as to what stations show up where on your system, and from that it determines which guide data to send you. When I did mine I had to connect to the TiVo service to DL all new guide info.

I'm not saying it will fix the problem this time, but it's worth a try.

Thanks Keenan.

I went to 'Channel List' and enabled the new channels. Then the new channels had no guide data or channel name, but listed. After that I forced to Tivo to refresh Guide data (didn't want to do guide setup). Now, all the channels are listed properly. There is also a message informing about the channel changes. I don't know if I would have gotten the new channels any tomorrow even if didn't manually enable the channels.

wondering if its been fixed for anyone else? prior to the HD upgrade my new XBR6's QAM tuner was able to find and properly map all the OTA channels (well, except for KNTV/NBC which showed up at 11.1 and 11.2)Isn't KNTV NBC supposed to be located at 11.1 and 11.2?

Oops . . . sorry for purveying bad information. I just assumed that there must be some PBS feed on the satellites. (Perhaps I convinced myself since there is an NPR feed on Sirius?) In any event, a quick surf of the web reveals that there is no national feed and that DirecTV hasn't picked up KQED here . . .IIRC, there has always been a national PBS feed on Dish Network. (Remember, DirecTV is not the only Satellite service.) I do not think there is a national PBS-HD feed yet, tho.

my tivohd has picked up guide data now for the new channels. weeeeeeee.

IIRC, there has always been a national PBS feed on Dish Network. (Remember, DirecTV is not the only Satellite service.) I do not think there is a national PBS-HD feed yet, tho.

On the subject of PBS-HD,

http://dtv.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=352047

DIRECTV Launches Local Public Television Stations in HD Nationwide
Only Satellite TV Provider to Launch Local PBS In HD, DIRECTV
Rolls Out 14 with More To Follow This Month and 2009
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec 03, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

there is hope for us at least...
I wonder if we are close enough to LA to get into their spot beam :)

On the subject of PBS-HD,

http://dtv.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=352047

DIRECTV Launches Local Public Television Stations in HD Nationwide
Only Satellite TV Provider to Launch Local PBS In HD, DIRECTV
Rolls Out 14 with More To Follow This Month and 2009
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec 03, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Isn't KNTV NBC supposed to be located at 11.1 and 11.2?
one or the other i would think. and if i had to choose one of course i would choose 11-1. there's something buggy about this- when i tried to "delete" 11-2 from a panasonic plasma's channel settings it wouldn't go away.

boo...

in fremont...

lost MOJO... but no new channels...

That's odd because usually Fremont and Newark have had pretty much the same lineup since Comcast took over, and Newark has the new channels.

That's odd because usually Fremont and Newark have had pretty much the same lineup since Comcast took over, and Newark has the new channels.

Unless the new channels have appeared in the last 24 hours or so, they haven't been added in my part of Fremont. Does anyone know how much bandwidth Newark has?

Unless the new channels have appeared in the last 24 hours or so, they haven't been added in my part of Fremont. Does anyone know how much bandwidth Newark has?

Newark and Union City are both 860Mhz. Fremont is 750Mhz. They all run out of the same office now but the systems are different,

I'm over in Dublin off Santa Rita. Anyone know how to tell what frequency were on? As with all, I lost Mojo as well and didnt get the new channels

I'm in San Ramon and I lost MOJO but my Tivo HD just picked up channel 723 Versus HD but none of the other new channels.

I'm soooooo underwhelmed.

Apparently 723 is just the digital version of GOLF (channel 82 here).

Didn't Versus and Golf split into separate channels? When Mojo went off I got Versus(great channel, it was showing infomercials at 2:30 in the afternoon :rolleyes:), and I seem to recall seeing a GolfHD channel in the lineup although I couldn't swear to that at the moment.

<edit> It appears that the Golf channel(722) has the guide data for Versus(723) which is showing to be announced. If I cared about either of those channels I'd probably try the guide setup sequence to see if it righted itself, but... :p

BTW, in case anyone was wondering, both of those channels are owned by Comcast which would explain their low channel number placement(just above CSNBA) and before all the rest of the HD channels, and a possible reason for their split, more "shelf space" for those infomercials. :)

TiVo updated the guide data for my boxes today with the new HD channel. However, I did notice the guide for the following channels are incorrect:

723 - VERSUS HD (All it says is SIGN OFF)
753 - E! HD (All it says is SIGN OFF)
766 - CARTOON NETWORK HD (The channel guide put in place is for Toon Disney)

Add Pleasanton to the list of cities that lost MojoHD but have yet to receive any new channels. It's Comcastic!

Try the channel listing setup query like I mentioned to Mikef5, you'll find it mentioned in small print at the bottom of the channel list page in setup. It will ask you a series of questions as to what stations show up where on your system, and from that it determines which guide data to send you. When I did mine I had to connect to the TiVo service to DL all new guide info.

I'm not saying it will fix the problem this time, but it's worth a try.

Came home from work preparing to go through the Guided Setup as Jim suggested and low and behold...got the message saying the new channels have been added. Guess I just needed to be a little more patient.

I am trying to find out the safest slot in my channel lineup to insert a modulated channel (security camera) within my home.
It used to be easy, since Comcast had lot's of blank channels up in the 80's and 90's, but with all the new digital and HD channels that have been added (which is good news) those slots in the 80's and 90's are no longer available without impacting the programming that Comcast has added on those frequencies.
Can anyone give some insight into the 'best' channel, or contiguous group of channels, probably in the current list of basic analog channels, that will be around for a while, that I could use?
I intend to put a single channel blocker on my Comcast input, and then insert my modulated security channel into that 'open' channel slot (using a filter to make sure my modulator doesn't created problems on adjacent channels).
Thanks
Mike

one or the other i would think. and if i had to choose one of course i would choose 11-1. there's something buggy about this- when i tried to "delete" 11-2 from a panasonic plasma's channel settings it wouldn't go away.
Actually, KNTV uses both 11.1 and 11.2. The main feed is on 11.1 and the news/weather feed is on 11.2. There is a good chance that both channels could show up as "KNTV" on your TV's channel list. You'd have to actuially view them to be sure.

Of course, if you are getting the same main feed on both, that would be weird.

I am trying to find out the safest slot in my channel lineup to insert a modulated channel (security camera) within my home.
It used to be easy, since Comcast had lot's of blank channels up in the 80's and 90's, but with all the new digital and HD channels that have been added (which is good news) those slots in the 80's and 90's are no longer available without impacting the programming that Comcast has added on those frequencies.
Can anyone give some insight into the 'best' channel, or contiguous group of channels, probably in the current list of basic analog channels, that will be around for a while, that I could use?
I intend to put a single channel blocker on my Comcast input, and then insert my modulated security channel into that 'open' channel slot (using a filter to make sure my modulator doesn't created problems on adjacent channels).
Thanks
Mike

If you live in a 750 Mhz market, you can find modulators that will go to 860 or so (ch 135) that should work. If you live in an 860 Mhz market, and do not have any analog sets, you can notch out your choice of channels down in the expanded basic tier, and the STB's will be unaffected as they are using the digital ADS versions of those channels anyway.

If you are using both the analog versions of the channels and in an 860 Mhz plant, it's a little tougher, as you need to try and find a notch that covers some analog channels that you don't watch.

Does channel 8(KTSF) have a digital HD channel?

Looks like the channels expected are live for me, but just aren't showing up on my guide yet.

Does channel 8(KTSF) have a digital HD channel?

They have a digital channel on channel 27.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KTSF

I seriously doubt that any telecasts are HD.

They have a digital channel on channel 27.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KTSF

I seriously doubt that any telecasts are HD.

I assume comcast doesn't carry it?

Actually, Comcast does carry it, but as Bobby says, it's not an HD channel.

My DVR is doing weird stuff. First of all, it's not recording shows that it says it will, I missed some shows this week.. But then it decided to record 2 re-runs of another couple shows (that were CLEARLY labelled "repeat" in the guide), and for some inexplicable reason, it recorded 2 copies of the SAME episode - aired at the same time mind you, it just recorded it twice on the DVR - of a show that I don't even have a recording set for!

Oh well, will be ordering DirecTV next week, guess my timing is pretty good (would have ordered it already but unfortunately auto-paid the cable bill for Dec ...)

Foster City Tivo guide, now shows the new channels - names only- but no programming/show guide data yet. ("to be announced")
My S3 did update w/ the v11 OS update also.

Still no 755 travel channel HD...?

In San Jose, I believe I'm getting all the recently announced HD channels except for The Travel Channel (755). With my subscription, I'm especially enjoying BravoHD, EncoreHD, and SpeedHD, but it seems like there is redundant programming between two Golf channels (722 & 723)?

Actually, Comcast does carry it, but as Bobby says, it's not an HD channel.

What channel does Comcast carry digital KTSF on? I checked the 180's - 190's (where other digital non hd channels are), nothing.

And of course it's not in the 700's.

So if it is carried, where is it? Even though it's not HD, I would prefer to watch that over the analog.

In San Jose, I believe I'm getting all the recently announced HD channels except for The Travel Channel (755). With my subscription, I'm especially enjoying BravoHD, EncoreHD, and SpeedHD, but it seems like there is redundant programming between two Golf channels (722 & 723)?

722 will become Versus HD only, from what I've heard.

What channel does Comcast carry digital KTSF on? I checked the 180's - 190's (where other digital non hd channels are), nothing.

And of course it's not in the 700's.

So if it is carried, where is it? Even though it's not HD, I would prefer to watch that over the analog.Evidently it's carried as an ADS channel so that you'll get the digital version at the "usual" spot, provided that you're set up with the Comcast ADS STB. If you're not using a STB, you can find it amongst the clear QAM channels on your DTV. Probably the easiest way to find out which one is to use the map at this site (http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/channels). In my case, KTSF is program 8 on rf 87.

In regards to the back skip going 4-5 minutes, I have One for all (OFA-8910) and I was able to reprogram my remote using the instructions on this page.


http://www.hifi-remote.com/ofa/advanced.shtml. It works fine now.

Has had anyone had a problem using the rewind button? Occasionally when I try to rewind (especially during a live broadcast I have paused) the show rewinds all the way to the beginning of the recording. This is a big P.I.T.A. when I'm watching say a football game and I just want to review a play. Of course now that I have the 15sec skip back working it wont be such a problem.

Had a Comcast tech out today for some work (Dublin/Pleasanton area), and when talking to him he mentioned that Comcast is planning to drop most analog service in the Bay Area in Feb '09. Doing my homework, it seems that they've already done this in other parts of the country, so I guess it shouldn't surprise me that we're next.

Can anybody confirm/provide details?

you ask when we might get the new channels? i am in livermore, with the tri-valley service and still nothing, they were very prompt in removing mojo though.

also, maybe i am not understanding this but all analog will be gone Feb. 17th, 2009

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_switchover

you ask when we might get the new channels? i am in livermore, with the tri-valley service and still nothing, they were very prompt in removing mojo though.

also, maybe i am not understanding this but all analog will be gone Feb. 17th, 2009

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_switchover

The second sentence on that wiki page is very misleading. To say that it "involves" cable providers can mean anything. In reality, cable MSO's really have nothing to do with the magic Feb. 1 date. The mandate issued by the FCC is that all OTA signals must be digital by 2/1/09. You don't get your cable via OTA (at least not in the traditional, public sense) hence they are not affected. Yes, it benefits cable MSO's to go all digital as it saves bandwidth...but in no way are they required to switchover. In fact, Comcast has already stated they will keep some of the basic and basic cable channels available in analog indefinitely.

I am HDTV newbie in Napa, CA; please pardon my ignorance.

My old analog TV died, and I am about to get a HD replacement. All the TV's I am considering have NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuners.

I currently have analog cable from Comcast. My package has channels similar to "Digital Starter" but is analog. I am trying to get myself educated about what it possible before I call Comcast.

At this point I just want to be able to receive local channels in HD with the cable channels in standard definition. When I look at HDTV info for Napa on comcast.com, they list an HD-DVR for $14.95/month which I don't want (I will continue to use my Tivo). I don't see any HD plan without a DVR. It's weird because when I search comacast.com for San Francisco, they list HD packages with and without DVR. Something appears to be different in Napa.

So here are my questions:
1) I have read that Comcast provides free unencrypted local channels in HD. Are these available in Napa? If so, what is the minimum I need to do to receive these?
2) Is the QAM tuner on my TV of any use? Or do I need a set-top-box?
3) If I need a STB, is one available from Comcast in Napa without a DVR?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the help!

Yes you can get a HD converter box without DVR for $7/mo. (DCT-6200, big silver thing). They call this "HDTV service" I believe.

You don't need the box to tune local HD channels if that's all you want (just a clear-QAM tuner in the TV). You do need a box to tune in all the encrypted digital channels, both SD and HD. Of course you can use an analog/NTSC tuner in the TV or Tivo, for as long as they keep analog service on the wire, which may not be much longer.

The new channels are available in Benicia, but for some reason, TiVo doesn't let me do any manual recordings on the stations that don't have any actual guide data (even though the channel appears in the guide's channel list).
Manual recording should work. Make sure the channels are selected on the Channel List.
The first time, they weren't. However, when I manually selected Cartoon Network HD and tried again, at first it was added to the To Do list, but when it came time to record, it didn't, and the Recording History said something like "The program was not recorded because it was no longer in the program guide." (The right side of the program guide is still blank for that channel.)

Something else that was strange: Cartoon Network HD appears to be the 4x3 signal stretched to fit a widescreen TV - it's definitely a different feed from the SD version, as when I change the SD signal to 4x3, the picture appears as a normal 4x3, but when I do the same thing with the HD, it is the same signal but with the left and right sides blacked out.

-- Don

For TiVo owners, on demand Netflix films/TV is now available, including HD. Works good too, and something else to burn through that 250GB monthly cap.:p:D

http://gizmodo.com/5103308/netflix-available-on-tivo-now

Well if the movies are about 7-8GB like most are, that's over 30 movies per month, so I think you should be good.

That said, if you already have access to Comcast On Demand AND a Netflix account (and a Blu-ray) I don't see why you'd bother with horrible internet videos.

Oh also read this article before you decide to throw money at Netflix streaming.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=13605

Hard to believe they would go live with Tivo now before they have their network issued worked out...

Not sure if this has already been addressed but I'm getting the same programming and guide info for VersusHD and Golf HD...Do I need to "reset" my box (3412) or do I need to call Comcast for some sort of signal refresh? I do not have Tivo.

Thanks.

btw, I live in the east part of Dublin and lost Mojo. We did not get the majority of the new channels, only Golf.

Well if the movies are about 7-8GB like most are, that's over 30 movies per month, so I think you should be good.

That said, if you already have access to Comcast On Demand AND a Netflix account (and a Blu-ray) I don't see why you'd bother with horrible internet videos.

Oh also read this article before you decide to throw money at Netflix streaming.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=13605

Hard to believe they would go live with Tivo now before they have their network issued worked out...
Yes, it's one of those things I may use a few times a month.

The quality via the TiVo isn't too bad, it's 720p at about 4Mbps at max and there's several quality levels below that for those with slower connections. I watched a bit of a low action film and a portion of a Heroes episode with Peter running and it was certainly acceptable, Definitely worthy of catching a missed episode, or a film where the content is far more important than the actual image quality.

From the TiVo forum:
Stream quality "levels" on Netflix include:

0.5 Mbps (SD)
1.0 Mbps (SD)
1.6 Mbps (SD)
2.2 Mbps (SD)
3.4 Mbps (SD - select titles only)
2.6 Mbps (HD)
3.8 Mbps (HD)

Multiply by 1.5x to determine the Internet connection you would need to maintain each quality level.

And a blog post from Netflix about the streaming quality, although this was made before the Netflix feature on the TiVo.

http://blog.netflix.com/2008/11/encoding-for-streaming.html

For TiVo owners, on demand Netflix films/TV is now available, including HD. Works good too, and something else to burn through that 250GB monthly cap.:p:D

http://gizmodo.com/5103308/netflix-available-on-tivo-now

Yeah, I was playing around with it a bit last night. HD quality isn't fantastic, but definitely viewable. It only took around 5 seconds to start the movie which was really cool (I've heard the XBOX implementations can take upwards of 60 seconds). You still have put the movies in your "Watch Instantly" queue at your computer which kind of sucks. Definitely though on the right track to "replace" the On Demand you lose when watching on a Tivo.

Can you really call 3.8Mbps "HD", that seems like false advertising.

DVD is 10Mbits after all, (MPEG2).

I dunno, to me "HD" needs to be 10Mbps (MPEG4) at a minimum, and preferably more like 20.

But I guess technically as long as it's 720p they can call it "HD" even if the bit rate is a complete joke (I mean the AUDIO tracks on a lot of Blu-ray titles are higher than 3.8Mbits/sec..)

Then again, when my DVR fubared and missed the last episode of "Terminator" I tried (in vain) to watch it on "Hulu".... what a disaster that was, I guess anything is better, even if you do have to pay for it.

Can you really call 3.8Mbps "HD", that seems like false advertising.

DVD is 10Mbits after all, (MPEG2).

I dunno, to me "HD" needs to be 10Mbps (MPEG4) at a minimum, and preferably more like 20.

But I guess technically as long as it's 720p they can call it "HD" even if the bit rate is a complete joke (I mean the AUDIO tracks on a lot of Blu-ray titles are higher than 3.8Mbits/sec..)

Then again, when my DVR fubared and missed the last episode of "Terminator" I tried (in vain) to watch it on "Hulu".... what a disaster that was, I guess anything is better, even if you do have to pay for it.

DVD is usually around 5-6 mbps for most commercial titles. You can encode an 720p HD video with Divx at 3 mbps and get fairly good picture quality though you would need to do a dual pass encode. AVCHD 720p files can even be smaller at that bitrate. MPEG-2 is not that optimized so it takes higher bitrates but less CPU to decode. AVCHD takes much more CPU or a dedicated processor. You can get fairly decent 1080p footage at 8 mbps and higher bitrates of course better. Usually an AVCHD file can have the same quality at 1/3 the size of an MPEG-2 file.

And if CE companies were planning today they might use Theora for compression because they don't have to pay a royalty. And they love that.

Can you really call 3.8Mbps "HD", that seems like false advertising.

DVD is 10Mbits after all, (MPEG2).

I dunno, to me "HD" needs to be 10Mbps (MPEG4) at a minimum, and preferably more like 20.

But I guess technically as long as it's 720p they can call it "HD" even if the bit rate is a complete joke (I mean the AUDIO tracks on a lot of Blu-ray titles are higher than 3.8Mbits/sec..)

Then again, when my DVR fubared and missed the last episode of "Terminator" I tried (in vain) to watch it on "Hulu".... what a disaster that was, I guess anything is better, even if you do have to pay for it.

Is putting 3 HD channels per 38Mbps QAM HD? :p:D

No, it's not HD like you would see "normally" from a linear channel, but it's not that bad at all, I was actually surprised it looked as good as it does. As Brian notes above, compression technologies are getting better all the time. I myself wouldn't call a 3.8Mbps stream HD but with a widescreen/OAR presentation and the hope of multi-channel sound in the future, it's certainly a viable alternative to Comcast VOD.

It will be interesting to see how Amazon's VOD-HD looks when it comes to the TiVo.

I am trying to find out the safest slot in my channel lineup to insert a modulated channel (security camera) within my home.

Mike,

If I were to re-do mine, I'd set it up on a very low analog channel like 2 or 3. These should be preserved in analog until your cable goes all-digital since they are in the 2-9 local station lineup. You won't miss these channels since you are probably watching the digital versions at other RF frequencies.

Also, the notch filter's soft edges effects will be less of a problem at lower frequencies. You might even get to keep the adjacent channel.

Deane

I am trying to find out the safest slot in my channel lineup to insert a modulated channel (security camera) within my home.

Mike, in addition to my earlier post, it looks like you can buy low channel block (notch) filters off the shelf:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_7176445601/On-Q-Notch-Filter.html?tp=9286

Maybe I'll change my security setup to use channel 2, then I can inject the same signal into both my OTA feed and cable feed - cable and OTA use the same RF frequencies for low channels.

Something else that was strange: Cartoon Network HD appears to be the 4x3 signal stretched to fit a widescreen TV - it's definitely a different feed from the SD version, as when I change the SD signal to 4x3, the picture appears as a normal 4x3, but when I do the same thing with the HD, it is the same signal but with the left and right sides blacked out.
Not a "Comcast problem" - apparently, for CN shows that aren't in HD (Star Wars Clone Wars, the latest season of Metalocalypse, and a handful of others), CN stretches the sides of the SD picture out to an HD-size screen, which is why it looks "normal" in my TV's 4x3 mode.

(I don't see why, for shows like Family Guy and American Dad, CN-HD doesn't air it in 4:3 with black bars on the sides, the way Fox-HD does.)

-- Don

(I don't see why, for shows like Family Guy and American Dad, CN-HD doesn't air it in 4:3 with black bars on the sides, the way Fox-HD does.
This seems like "natural course" for new HD channels. Initially they want to trick people in to thinking everything is HD (it usually mean nothing is in HD).. once they increase real HD programming, feel less insecure and use common sense to keep 4:3 at 4:3.

I agree. I checked couple of HD titles and they looked really good (at least as good as a good DVD). I am not sure if Netflix can really fix the multichannel sound issue any time soon.

My main complaint is that SD looks awful. a few things I tried looked like some low quality boot-legged VCDs (remember VCD :)?).

Quality wise, Comcast VOD easily beats Netflix. But.. Comcast VOD never improves.. hopefully Netflix will.


No, it's not HD like you would see "normally" from a linear channel, but it's not that bad at all, I was actually surprised it looked as good as it does. As Brian notes above, compression technologies are getting better all the time. I myself wouldn't call a 3.8Mbps stream HD but with a widescreen/OAR presentation and the hope of multi-channel sound in the future, it's certainly a viable alternative to Comcast VOD.

It will be interesting to see how Amazon's VOD-HD looks when it comes to the TiVo.

hey guys-

i'm in fremont (near the union city border) and i'm still not seeing the new channels. i've been forcing both tivoHDs to make connections to tivo service but for some reason or another, the new channels are not showing up in the guide. i can enter 733, and gives me a SIGN OFF message. any suggestions?

thanks in advance.

clink

hey guys-

i'm in fremont (near the union city border) and i'm still not seeing the new channels. i've been forcing both tivoHDs to make connections to tivo service but for some reason or another, the new channels are not showing up in the guide. i can enter 733, and gives me a SIGN OFF message. any suggestions?

thanks in advance.

clink

Fremont is in the (long) list of areas which didn't get the new channels, so you're not going to see them until Comcast adds them.

I agree. I checked couple of HD titles and they looked really good (at least as good as a good DVD).Do you see the problem here?

It's sold as "HD" but it looks like "a good DVD"? :rolleyes:

I mean, nothing wrong with a good DVD, but it isn't "HD". I haven't seen the service myself but if people are satisfied with the quality and the price, selection, etc. that's great, nothing wrong with that. It's just that personally I am way beyond "DVD" quality. At least, paying for it that is. I can get free "DVD" quality video from a number of sources (most of them legal even!) I haven't rented a DVD in about 2 years...

Nothing yet, but it's the holidays ( everyone needs some time off once in a while :) ) and I'm sure once he gets back he'll update us. I've never had a problem with him not answering our questions, so I'll give him a couple of days before I bug him again.

Laters,
Mikef5

Any additional insight into this, yet ? (Other than the obvious - those still stuck with 750MHz plants didn't get the additional HD channels)

Gotta give some credit those PR spin doctors at Comcast - probably fooled even their own staff into thinking this really was HD lineup upgrade for all/most of "Bay Area"... :)

KQED-HD is now on DirecTV for those who were interested.

Any additional insight into this, yet ? (Other than the obvious - those still stuck with 750MHz plants didn't get the additional HD channels)

Is it definitive that only 860MHz and above received the new HD channels?

True, it is no Blu-ray, but a very good start. You probably will be disappointed by many "HD" programs on TV channels as well. Saying it is not HD is not fair. It has HD resolution at the least (and equally important for quality : HD source).

Main thing is difference between Netflix SD and Netflix HD is enormous compared to difference between DVD and Blu-ray.

I have "Storm Over Everest" stored when it aired on KQED and briefly compared it to Netflix HD of that. The difference was negligible from the brief late night test. I have 720P 50" TV. I will check again. Also I don't have a HD player yet :(

A DVD is not HD even if it has a bit rate of 100Mbps, just because of limitation resolution.

Do you see the problem here?

It's sold as "HD" but it looks like "a good DVD"? :rolleyes:

I mean, nothing wrong with a good DVD, but it isn't "HD". I haven't seen the service myself but if people are satisfied with the quality and the price, selection, etc. that's great, nothing wrong with that. It's just that personally I am way beyond "DVD" quality. At least, paying for it that is. I can get free "DVD" quality video from a number of sources (most of them legal even!) I haven't rented a DVD in about 2 years...

I found this from Multichannel News...

Parts of Comcast Corp.'s San Francisco Bay Area cluster will add 12 new high-definition channels to their lineups beginning Nov. 25.

The added channels include HD versions of Bravo, Cartoon Network, CNBC, E!, Encore, Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, FX, Hallmark Movie Channel, QVC, Speed and the Travel Channel.

All those channels, plus TBS HD, will launch Dec. 8 in select central California markets, including Chico, Calaveras, Corning, Davis, Grass Valley, Modesto, Oroville, Patterson, Placerville, Roseville and Tracy.




Well I am still sitting in San Mateo County Digital (San Carlos) and have no new HD channels. Tivo has had a few of the delete messages (MOJO and GOLF just last night), but nothing new.

This has been covered a dozen times. Only a few select areas in the Bay Area got the new channels, most did not. No explanation, no ETA.

Just to add to the confusion, I received all the new HD channels (except The Travel Channel) in San Jose on a 860MHz system. The original announcement did not include San Jose at all........

There doesn't seem to be any method to their madness.

In other news I just ordered DirecTV, will be installed Saturday, woop!

This has been covered a dozen times. Only a few select areas in the Bay Area got the new channels, most did not. No explanation, no ETA.

As disapointed as I am in not getting the new channels, the lack of an explaination causes me even more frustration. If it's going to be a year before we get the channels, so be it - just let us know!

It would be nice if good 'ol Mr. J. could straighten this out for us......

In other news I just ordered DirecTV, will be installed Saturday, woop!

Congrats!!! Does it come with Beyonce too? :cool:

I may be doing the same thing next year.
Could you let us know your first impressions once you're up and running?

I, too, am fed up with Comcast and their crappy box but I'm not sure I want to go satellite yet (lots of trees and potential interference for me here and I still like the internet service). I'm thinking of going the Tivo route to take advantage of Netflix, Unbox (hope that goes HD soon), multi-room viewing, etc. I am confused on the cost though and hoping you all can help (and will likely be much more accurate than comcast service).

Today I am paying for the Digital Silver package. I pay:
$59.95 for 'standard cable'
$35.93 for 'digital silver'
$15.95 for HD DVR

When I look on the Comcast site for similar service through Tivo t seems like the new bill would be:
$49.99 for Preferred Plus
$3.95 for Cable Card

Is that right? Seems like I am getting truly screwed right now if it is. Or do I need to pay for the 'standard cable' charge too in the new format?

Both my TiVos added the new channels, problem is none of them work. I should get all of them since I have the triple play premier, when I go into the diagnostics it looks like the channel doesn't exist.

I am in Redwood Shores, I *thought* we were on the same system as Foster City (that is the office I have gone to) which seems to have the new channels.

I, too, am fed up with Comcast and their crappy box but I'm not sure I want to go satellite yet (lots of trees and potential interference for me here and I still like the internet service). I'm thinking of going the Tivo route to take advantage of Netflix, Unbox (hope that goes HD soon), multi-room viewing, etc. I am confused on the cost though and hoping you all can help (and will likely be much more accurate than comcast service).

Today I am paying for the Digital Silver package. I pay:
$59.95 for 'standard cable'
$35.93 for 'digital silver'
$15.95 for HD DVR

When I look on the Comcast site for similar service through Tivo t seems like the new bill would be:
$49.99 for Preferred Plus
$3.95 for Cable Card

Is that right? Seems like I am getting truly screwed right now if it is. Or do I need to pay for the 'standard cable' charge too in the new format?

The Preferred Plus package is $49.99 for the first 6 months only. After that it's $111.90/month. Your current "Silver" package is somewhat grandfathered so you're actually getting a better deal now. You can try just removing your HD-DVR and add the CableCARD (saving $12/month) but they might force you to move to a "current" package in which you'll end up paying more (they sometimes try to do this when you change any service on your account).

I, too, am fed up with Comcast and their crappy box but I'm not sure I want to go satellite yet (lots of trees and potential interference for me here and I still like the internet service). I'm thinking of going the Tivo route to take advantage of Netflix, Unbox (hope that goes HD soon), multi-room viewing, etc. I am confused on the cost though and hoping you all can help (and will likely be much more accurate than comcast service).

Today I am paying for the Digital Silver package. I pay:
$59.95 for 'standard cable'
$35.93 for 'digital silver'
$15.95 for HD DVR

When I look on the Comcast site for similar service through Tivo t seems like the new bill would be:
$49.99 for Preferred Plus
$3.95 for Cable Card

Is that right? Seems like I am getting truly screwed right now if it is. Or do I need to pay for the 'standard cable' charge too in the new format?

Wow, I thought I had it bad.

I pay:

$46 for Comcast HSI (yes I know they should be charging me $57 since I dropped all Comcast cable TV service).

I won't break down my Direct TV by each part but I'm now paying:
$87 for pretty much all the channels including NFL Network in HD, HBO and Showtime, 2 HD DVRs.

Regular price is $97 but I get a $10 credit for a year for a 2-year commitment.

It's $15.95 per month for the Moto DVR now, plus the unwanted required programming needed to quality for the DVR? Holy sheet! :eek::D

That's $191 a year. You can get a refurb TiVo HD for $179 right now, add in a 3 year sub and it comes to $17.22 per month total(including CC cost @ $3.95 - is it really that much now?), or $206 a year. That's $15 more per year for a vastly superior DVR, and that doesn't include the savings of nearly $900($300 per year @$25 per month) of unwanted programming costs needed to get the Moto DVR.

So,
Comcast DVR - $41 per month, forever, or until they raise the cost again.
TiVo DVR - $17 per month(amortizes hardware cost over 3 year period), or about $12 per month with a $179 up front cost.

And then there's the Digeo/Moxi CableCARD HD-DVR, supposedly coming in the first part of next year.

http://moxi.com/moxi/discover_moxi_hd.jsp

No monthly EPG fees like TiVo has, but it does cost $800 up front. Not sure what they're thinking with that price, that's what the S3 cost brand new when it first came out a few years ago. Long term a better deal(early in the 5th year you're ahead of the game), but in this economic environment? Not sure that is going to get too much traction.

There shouldn't be any charge for the first CableCard as the primary outlet.

You can get a brand new TiVo HD with lifetime service for around $500. TiVo HD from 6ave.com for $208 with coupon AFLTVO208. Lifetime service from eBay for $345, minus live.com rebate. The live search rebate varies between 0% and 30% and can change multiple times a day. Or, if you know someone with TiVo, he/she can get the lifetime for $299.

To add to that, Tivo.com is selling refurbed TivoHD's for $179 online.

Tivo.com charges CA tax, and you cannot get discounted lifetime service with the refurub unit.

There shouldn't be any charge for the first CableCard as the primary outlet.

You can get a brand new TiVo HD with lifetime service for around $500. TiVo HD from 6ave.com for $208 with coupon AFLTVO208. Lifetime service from eBay for $345, minus live.com rebate. The live search rebate varies between 0% and 30% and can change multiple times a day. Or, if you know someone with TiVo, he/she can get the lifetime for $299.

I'll have to look in to that, my 3 year is up this coming Sept. Regarding the CC's, the first one is "free" but the second has a cost right? Or is the S3 capable of using a single card now? I guess it doesn't matter as they don't sell them anymore.

S3 still needs two cards, which should be $1.79 in the Bay Area.

Any word from anyone with ties to Comcast Bay Area as to whether we are getting DOCSIS 3.0 this month? Mike F? Thanks.

S3 still needs two cards, which should be $1.79 in the Bay Area.

That's what I thought, thanks. :)

Any word from anyone with ties to Comcast Bay Area as to whether we are getting DOCSIS 3.0 this month? Mike F? Thanks.

I've been thinking about dropping my service down to 12/2 from 16/2 and save $10 a month, if we even have that tier here.

I think the tiers are 6/1 and 16/2, but if you find otherwise let me know.

With Tivo, you need the same level of service for Tivo + Cablecard as you do with Comcast DVR don't you? You'd only save the difference between DVR fee and Cablecard fee (if any). Meaning you still need Digital Silver or whatever you have in order to tune in those encrypted digital channels on the Tivo/CC, right?

As for DirecTV, I broke this down before but I'm basically saving over $600 in the first year alone, and that's after startup/equipment costs. Now if they charge me more for HSI that will cut into that (unless I find another ISP) but still, that's a big big difference (and ahhh the service is better). After the 1st year the price settles at about $75/mo for roughly the same service on Comcast that I'm currently spending well over $100 for.