I would like to know whether Comcast, when it does these system upgrades, considers things beyond the pure technical capability of an area. Could socioeconomic factors also play into who gets upgraded and when? Are, for instance, areas that are perceived to more affluent, with possibly more costly package subscribers, likely to get preference?

Cal,

Can you imagine the public outcry that Comcast would face if they did base their upgrades on whether or not an area is more affluent than other areas ? It would be a public relations nightmare and something that no reputable business would do and Comcast does not do that.

Laters,
Mikef5

Cal,

Can you imagine the public outcry that Comcast would face if they did base their upgrades on whether or not an area is more affluent than other areas ? It would be a public relations nightmare and something that no reputable business would do and Comcast does not do that.


Hopefully not Mike but I always wonder about Vallejo's "reputation" when things seem to get delayed here. BTW, have you heard anything more about the schedule? The new HDs pretty much match up to Boston, Chicago, Porland, etc. and would make Comcast much more competitive with Direct, Dish and U-Verse. I can tell you that up here AT&T appears to be making a serious move on Comcast with its U-Verse service. I know a number of people who have switched recently and seem to very happy with the service and, especially, the price. I just don't want to be sitting here in December with none of the additions and wondering why I'm still paying top dollar every month for the Premium package.

I would like to know whether Comcast, when it does these system upgrades, considers things beyond the pure technical capability of an area. Could socioeconomic factors also play into who gets upgraded and when? Are, for instance, areas that are perceived to more affluent, with possibly more costly package subscribers, likely to get preference?

If this was the case Santa Cruz would be sitting in Comcast HD heaven. I believe Santa Cruz is at 750 mhz but has less HD than any Bay Area DMA

Well, I guess that's great news...for the people that live in those cities. I, for one, am tired about hearing all these other areas getting more channels when I'm still waiting for the HD channels from the previous upgrade, such as TravelHD, to come through in Berkeley. Shouldn't Comcast take care of those customers and make those upgrades first? It upsets me even more that these areas will be receving 50-60 more HD channels when we're paying the same amount of money for, what's supposed to be, similar service. Again, lucky for the select few that live in those areas. Everyone else is getting hosed.

Maybe it's time to start looking into DirectTV or Dish since it seems like I live in an area that Comcast, for whatever reason, has a difficult time upgrading.

I live in Berkeley too and feel left out. What burns the most is we're playing the same amount as everyone else. :(

I live in Berkeley too and feel left out. What burns the most is we're playing the same amount as everyone else. :(

Just remember many of those areas now getting the new channels were stuck on the old 550 MHz system for a very long time. Areas like Sunnyvale, Milpitas, Saratoga, etc., for instance.

Hopefully not Mike but I always wonder about Vallejo's "reputation" when things seem to get delayed here. BTW, have you heard anything more about the schedule? The new HDs pretty much match up to Boston, Chicago, Porland, etc. and would make Comcast much more competitive with Direct, Dish and U-Verse. I can tell you that up here AT&T appears to be making a serious move on Comcast with its U-Verse service. I know a number of people who have switched recently and seem to very happy with the service and, especially, the price. I just don't want to be sitting here in December with none of the additions and wondering why I'm still paying top dollar every month for the Premium package.

Cal,

I live in Milpitas and lived as a 550 MHz area for years and was told by another Comcast person ( Mr. Germano ) that this area would never get upgraded but it is now upgraded to a 1 GHz area but upgrading this and other areas is a real pain. TCI and AT&T left this cable system in a mess, just ask Santa Rosa, an area that was partially upgraded by AT&T and then stopped before it was completed. It's a system that is a hybrid of system parts that were upgraded and parts that weren't, it's going to take some time to get it straightened out but it's getting done. Heck, I think most of that is done now and all that needs to be done there now is to reclaim the analog bandwidth like they're doing in other areas.

AT&T U-Verse is available in some parts of Milpitas, my sister's area gets it but my area ( less than 1/2 mile but still in Milpitas ) does not get it. Why ?? My area is an older section of Milpitas and would not be cost effective to upgrade ( this area is over 40 years old ), while my sisters area is less than 10 years old thus easier to offer it in that area. So is AT&T cherry picking areas ? Maybe, it's a business decision that they made but I can tell you that everyone in Milpitas gets the same thing in all areas of Milpitas that Comcast serves. When Comcast finally did upgrade Milpitas it did the entire town not just a few select areas in Milpitas.

I can't speak for other areas like Vallejo and the reasons why they get upgraded or when they get upgraded. I did live in Vallejo many years ago back when I was going to Nuclear power school at Mare Island and from what I remember of the area it was pretty old and in need of a rebuild of the entire town even then and especially after the Navy left town. Socioeconomic's or just old and in need of a total remake of the town ? You decide, but they will get upgraded of that I'm sure.

As far as when all the areas will be done with this analog reclamation and when everyone will get all these channels. Comcast never gives out dates or times only general time-lines but they have said before the end of the year. That's really vague but that's about the best we will ever get from them and I see why they do it. You don't want your competition to know what or where you are doing what you are doing and if you give a definite time for completion and you miss that time you're slammed for it.

On a positive note, all the areas will get done, just maybe not as fast as we all hope but it will get done.

Laters,
Mikef5

Cal,

I live in Milpitas and lived as a 550 MHz area for years and was told by another Comcast person ( Mr. Germano ) that this area would never get upgraded but it is now upgraded to a 1 GHz area but upgrading this and other areas is a real pain.

Hi Mike, does Sunnyvale now have the 850 MHz or the 1GHz system? Thanks for the great news about upcoming HD additions.

Hi Mike, does Sunnyvale now have the 850 MHz or the 1GHz system? Thanks for the great news about upcoming HD additions.

Also Mike I just did a sampling of the QAM frequencies here in Vallejo and saw one as high as 863MHZ. I'm pretty sure that I'd seen one in the low 900s last year when we were looking at the 2 and 3-paks that CC was using. Do you know if the QAMs are an indication as to how ready we are for the upgrades?

Hi Mike, does Sunnyvale now have the 850 MHz or the 1GHz system? Thanks for the great news about upcoming HD additions.
Clau,

To be honest with you I really don't know but Sunnyvale is on the list to get the new channels sooooooooo..... be happy ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

Also Mike I just did a sampling of the QAM frequencies here in Vallejo and saw one as high as 863MHZ. I'm pretty sure that I'd seen one in the low 900s last year when we were looking at the 2 and 3-paks that CC was using. Do you know if the QAMs are an indication as to how ready we are for the upgrades?
That could give you an idea of what is available but you do realize that most of the 1GHz system is not used for tv channels ? A lot of it is used for Digital voice and high speed internet. One way to tell if your system is upgraded and if the analog to digital reclamation is completed is to see if Docsis 3.0 is available in your area. That takes a lot of bandwidth and is a good indicator of your systems abilities. The Comcast box itself can only recognize a signal below ( and this is a educated guess ) of 850 MHz the rest is used for the other things. I'm not completely sure of the cut off of the Moto boxes but it's pretty close to that, my point is that a lot of the bandwidth is used elsewhere. Instead of having to share bandwidth in the channel areas the 1 GHz areas can shift the other services to an area out of the channel bandwidth area.

Laters,
Mikef5

So, tonite's Giants game (no-hitter for Sanchez.. holy cow) was another *asterisk HD game (http://bayarea.comcastsportsnet.com/pages/schedule_giants_hd) (ie no HD on satellite?) but at least we got to witness the last couple innings in HD on MLB HD... Looks like tomorrow is also another * game, guess I better get some tickets :)

So, tonite's Giants game (no-hitter for Sanchez.. holy cow) was another *asterisk HD game (http://bayarea.comcastsportsnet.com/pages/schedule_giants_hd) (ie no HD on satellite?) but at least we got to witness the last couple innings in HD on MLB HD... Looks like tomorrow is also another * game, guess I better get some tickets :)

That was really a great game. I thought that Sanchez had blown the no hitter but Rowand pulled that ball back that looked like a sure home run, Rowand sure loves playing off those walls :p

Walk, you could always come back to Comcast ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

The HD broadcast of NASCAR on TNT (ch 737) is unwatchable - picture breaks up every few seconds. Even the local commercials are affected, so I'm thinking it's a Comcast issue.

Anyone else? Dish/Direct ok?

The HD broadcast of NASCAR on TNT (ch 737) is unwatchable - picture breaks up every few seconds. Even the local commercials are affected, so I'm thinking it's a Comcast issue.

Anyone else? Dish/Direct ok?
DirecTV TNT-HD ok.

The HD broadcast of NASCAR on TNT (ch 737) is unwatchable - picture breaks up every few seconds. Even the local commercials are affected, so I'm thinking it's a Comcast issue.

Anyone else? Dish/Direct ok?

I just turned it on and it's fine here in Milpitas. I'll watch it for another 1/2 hour, the Giants are on at 6 pm, but so far it's solid like a rock.

Laters,
Mikef5

I saw a few brief breakups but it looks fine right now. TNT-HD in general is just sloppy when it comes to their broadcasts, watch some of their original programs like The Closer, etc, there's almost always some image issue or audio problem.

I saw a few brief breakups but it looks fine right now. TNT-HD in general is just sloppy when it comes to their broadcasts, watch some of their original programs like The Closer, etc, there's almost always some image issue or audio problem.

Well, I watched for 1/2 hour and no breakups at all, might be a local problem but it's time for the Giants game so it's off to the game.

Laters,
Mikef5

Well, I watched for 1/2 hour and no breakups at all, might be a local problem but it's time for the Giants game so it's off to the game.

Laters,
Mikef5

Now that I think about it, it might have been the FOX baseball game that had the breakups. TNT in general does have it's issues though.

Now that I think about it, it might have been the FOX baseball game that had the breakups. TNT in general does have it's issues though.

I watched the Yankee's game on Fox and that did have some major freeze ups. Boy the Angel's played a great game, oops the commercial's over so back to the Giants game :)

Laters,
Mikef5

Amazing how far Sunnyvale went in 1 year. Not so long ago we only used to have the locals HD and 6-7 others... :)

Amazing how far Sunnyvale went in 1 year. Not so long ago we only used to have the locals HD and 6-7 others... :)

It's also nice to have good promotions that actually take advantage of the higher bandwidth. Just signed up for the equivalent of the Triple Play package, and so far very happy with the Digital Voice convenience and quality. Free HBO has been great, too.

Walk, you could always come back to Comcast ;)Not if you paid me! Well wait, how much are we talking here??
But seriously, for 5-6 Giants games in HD, vs everything else you get.. not worth it, even for a rabid Giants fan. I can always head over to my friends house, or to McNears, they put the games on the big screen...

I was very surprised last night when blasted out of my chair with an "Amber Alert" while I was watching a recording on the DVR. I assumed it was in the recording but it was not. No button could cancel the thing. It seemed to take over the whole box. They need to work on these a bit because it was about 6 DB higher than the volume level of the show I was watching. It was a bit Orwellian.

^^^^^
It was abominable!
Not only does it make you jump out of your seat; it screws up the broadcast/recording you're watching, and it will *kill* a recording in progress! There is no way these alerts should affect a DVR to that extent.

On a more personal note, we watch a lot of TV/movies to escape the reality of the world. That an Amber Alert about a murder/abduction should interrupt our enjoyment and upset us for the rest of the evening is just plain wrong!
(Yes, it's wrong that a person was murdered and a child abducted too, but there's nothing I can do about that! I'm not gonna see a car's license plate while I'm sitting at home watching TV!) Public roadside Amber Alerts....fine. My private personal home TV viewing.....No way!

I was very surprised last night when blasted out of my chair with an "Amber Alert" while I was watching a recording on the DVR. I assumed it was in the recording but it was not. No button could cancel the thing. It seemed to take over the whole box. They need to work on these a bit because it was about 6 DB higher than the volume level of the show I was watching. It was a bit Orwellian.
I got the same interruption last night. But I wasn't even watching live or recorded cable - I was watching netflix instant watch with tivo. How the government thinks its OK to blare out a detailed message about how somebody bludgeoned to death their wife several cities away is beyond me. Is it still OK when your kids hear those details while trying to watch Nickelodeon?

PS: The tivo doesn't resume the netflix recording after the alert completes, grumble. Guess I'd be better off using a blu-ray player for netflix instant watch (no amber alerts).

Now that comcast has released their sched. for HD channel upgrades, any scheduling details for the docsis 3.0 rollout? I'd like to stop paying extra for Blast! (16Mbit) service as soon as 16Mbit becomes the base level service. It's rather not fair that while I wait for the upgrade I'm paying extra whereas some regions already get 16Mbit for the base price.

I thought 12mb will be the "basic" service and "blast" is bumped to 22mb though it requires a new modem (D3.0)

I thought 12mb will be the "basic" service and "blast" is bumped to 22mb though it requires a new modem (D3.0)
That's probably right about the 12Mbit part. My point&question still stand however.

That's probably right about the 12Mbit part. My point&question still stand however.

You might check into that promo I got, 16/2 for $29.95 for the year. It's $23 less per month than I was paying before, and if/when 16/2 is eliminated and replaced by 12/2, $29.95 is still cheaper than the $42.95 that 12/2 will cost.

You might check into that promo I got, 16/2 for $29.95 for the year. It's $23 less per month than I was paying before, and if/when 16/2 is eliminated and replaced by 12/2, $29.95 is still cheaper than the $42.95 that 12/2 will cost.I think you had to drive to comcast's office, stand in line and haggle in person to get that (probably threatening to cancel service if they didn't give you a deal)?

I think you had to drive to comcast's office, stand in line and haggle in person to get that (probably threatening to cancel service if they didn't give you a deal)?

It was at the office, I was in the neighborhood and decided to see what they had. I had to wait a bit, but I just asked if they had any deals going on and she told me about the Digital Starter for $29.95, which includes HBO for free, one or two year, and the $29.95 16/2 HSI promo good for for 1 year. I jumped all over it since I was paying $73 per month for just Limited Basic and 16/2 HSI currently. It's a savings of over $1450 over the 2 years, enough to buy a second TiVo and still have $1000 left over. :D

It wasn't any hassle at all, all I did was ask. By the way, the people via the phone know nothing about the deal, possibly it's an in-office promo only.

I got the same interruption last night. But I wasn't even watching live or recorded cable - I was watching netflix instant watch with tivo. How the government thinks its OK to blare out a detailed message about how somebody bludgeoned to death their wife several cities away is beyond me. Is it still OK when your kids hear those details while trying to watch Nickelodeon?

PS: The tivo doesn't resume the netflix recording after the alert completes, grumble. Guess I'd be better off using a blu-ray player for netflix instant watch (no amber alerts).

So you lost a paid rental play? That shouldn't happen. I would complain. They really need to work out some bugs in the system. But we know how blunt headed bureaucrats are. I think the only other alerts I've seen before were just scrolling text (like CNN) and no audio.

It was at the office, I was in the neighborhood and decided to see what they had. I had to wait a bit, but I just asked if they had any deals going on and she told me about the Digital Starter for $29.95, which includes HBO for free, one or two year, and the $29.95 16/2 HSI promo good for for 1 year. I jumped all over it since I was paying $73 per month for just Limited Basic and 16/2 HSI currently. It's a savings of over $1450 over the 2 years, enough to buy a second TiVo and still have $1000 left over. :D

It wasn't any hassle at all, all I did was ask. By the way, the people via the phone know nothing about the deal, possibly it's an in-office promo only.

I got my deal over the phone. A little different than yours, since I only get the special rate for 12 months.

So you lost a paid rental play? That shouldn't happen. I would complain. They really need to work out some bugs in the system. But we know how blunt headed bureaucrats are. I think the only other alerts I've seen before were just scrolling text (like CNN) and no audio.No, just free insta-watch netflix that comes with an all you can eat plan. Had to wade back thru the menus to get back to the program however. Still extra annoying that netflix streaming on the tivo s3 gets interrupted with amber alerts yet netflix streaming on a blu-ray player or htpc would not.

It was at the office, I was in the neighborhood and decided to see what they had. I had to wait a bit, but I just asked if they had any deals going on and she told me about the Digital Starter for $29.95, which includes HBO for free, one or two year, and the $29.95 16/2 HSI promo good for for 1 year. I jumped all over it since I was paying $73 per month for just Limited Basic and 16/2 HSI currently. It's a savings of over $1450 over the 2 years, enough to buy a second TiVo and still have $1000 left over. :D

It wasn't any hassle at all, all I did was ask. By the way, the people via the phone know nothing about the deal, possibly it's an in-office promo only.Thanks. Maybe I'll see if I can get such a deal on the phone. My experience is the opposite - the one time I went to the local office they new less than what the phone CSRs did (if you can believe that), and didn't seem to be there for much more than dealing with luddites that wanted to pay their bills in person.

...and non-luddites that want bleeding edge STB's ;)

Is there anyone else in Fremont that had a problem with their HSI and channel 703 last night?

I tried calling Comcast, but they said due to outages, their call volume was high... so I figured I was just in an area with an outage.

NFL Sunday Ticket

Now that Comcast has increased bandwidths in a lot of cities, are we going to get Sunday NFL Ticket? In HD, of course.

NFL Sunday Ticket

Now that Comcast has increased bandwidths in a lot of cities, are we going to get Sunday NFL Ticket? In HD, of course.

Not a chance, DirecTV has Sunday Ticket locked up until 2015.

The Red Zone channel is being offered to cable, not sure exactly when, but it will likely cost a premium to subscribers. Although, big cable is of the view that the Red Zone Channel is not much more than an advertisement enticing the cable customer to go with DirecTV.

Basically, if you want Sunday Ticket, or anything close to it, the only place to get it is from DirecTV.

Not a chance, DirecTV has Sunday Ticket locked up until 2015.

The Red Zone channel is being offered to cable, not sure exactly when, but it will likely cost a premium to subscribers. Although, big cable is of the view that the Red Zone Channel is not much more than an advertisement enticing the cable customer to go with DirecTV.

Basically, if you want Sunday Ticket, or anything close to it, the only place to get it is from DirecTV.

Well, that's too bad. Although with the local teams doing so poorly, I watched very little football these last few years.

Man, anyone else getting massive amounts of macroblocking on SyFy HD in the East Bay? Only on SyFy HD, no other channel.

Man, anyone else getting massive amounts of macroblocking on SyFy HD in the East Bay? Only on SyFy HD, no other channel.

Yes, I saw that, about 3 or 4 times, this was the first showing of Warehouse 13 tonight. I recorded the 2nd airing and also from DirecTV to compare although I haven't viewed either yet

Well, that's too bad. Although with the local teams doing so poorly, I watched very little football these last few years.

You don't even need Sunday Ticket to watch local games. Even Raiders are blacked out there if they don't sell out home games. With NFL-HD in the basic Comcast tier this year you only need ST if you are a fan of out-of-town team (or just die hard football junkie).

Man, anyone else getting massive amounts of macroblocking on SyFy HD in the East Bay? Only on SyFy HD, no other channel.

I didn't notice much macroblocking but then with that network one becomes accustomed to it. :(

You don't even need Sunday Ticket to watch local games. Even Raiders are blacked out there if they don't sell out home games. With NFL-HD in the basic Comcast tier this year you only need ST if you are a fan of out-of-town team (or just die hard football junkie).

Not quite sure what you are trying to say. Of course, we can watch local games without Sunday Ticket unless they don't sell out: we've been doing that for decades. Are you saying that you can watch non-local teams on NFL-HD? I don't think that channel carries live games. (ST=Sports Tier or Sunday Ticket?)

My point was that since the local teams have not been competitive, I lose interest in the sport. I am much likely to watch more football, like games of other teams, if the local teams are in playoffs, etc.

Yes NFL Network has 8 live games a year now, including a 3rd game on Thanksgiving (plus some pre-season games). I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to steal more.

I was just saying, Sunday Ticket is mostly for fans of out-of-town teams, or pure football junkies.. it's like $350/season.

Yes NFL Network has 8 live games a year now, including a 3rd game on Thanksgiving (plus some pre-season games). I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to steal more.

I was just saying, Sunday Ticket is mostly for fans of out-of-town teams, or pure football junkies.. it's like $350/season.

8 live games a year is like one game every two weeks. Do they publish a list of games?

8 live games a year is like one game every two weeks. Do they publish a list of games?

http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/games

Here's the regular season list:
(all games on Thursday nights with a 5:20 Pacific kickoff unless otherwise noted)

11/12 - Bears at 49ers
11/19 - Dolphins at Panthers
11/26 - Giants at Broncos
12/3 - Jets at Bills
12/10 - Steelers at Browns
12/17 - Colts at Jaguars
Saturday 12/19 - Cowboys at Saints
Friday 12/25, 4:30 - Chargers at Titans
(I assume it's not a Thursday game because the NFL is a little hesitant to have a night game on Christmas Eve - that means that in 2009, Christmas Eve joins the days before and after the baseball All-Star Game as the only days with none of the four major professional team sports leagues having any games)

There are also Friday doubleheaders and a game on Saturday during each week of pre-season starting August 14.

-- Don

Is there anyone else in Fremont that had a problem with their HSI and channel 703 last night?

I tried calling Comcast, but they said due to outages, their call volume was high... so I figured I was just in an area with an outage.

Looks like it's just me. I have a tech coming out on Sunday, but after doing some research, it looks like I'm getting this problem due to the fact that my apartment is wired with RG59 cable.

Would Comcast be responsible for replacing the RG59 drop with RG6, or would my apartment complex be responsible for this.

The job seems pretty big. I would say it's about a 300ft+ drop running through conduits up and down the 3 story apartment building that was built in the 60's.

My biggest fear is that no one will be willing to replace it, and I'll be SOL with a 12 month agreement I just started.

Looks like it's just me. I have a tech coming out on Sunday, but after doing some research, it looks like I'm getting this problem due to the fact that my apartment is wired with RG59 cable.

Would Comcast be responsible for replacing the RG59 drop with RG6, or would my apartment complex be responsible for this.

The job seems pretty big. I would say it's about a 300ft+ drop running through conduits up and down the 3 story apartment building that was built in the 60's.

My biggest fear is that no one will be willing to replace it, and I'll be SOL with a 12 month agreement I just started.

No worries. They'll just pull the RG6 through the wall and run it down the side of the building. Comcast would rather have the lines in place to serve more customers.

Solano County, Vallejo-Benicia specifically? I'm not holding my breath.
I don't know about the latest set of HD channels, but I just got something in the mail that says the digital switchover is planned for September 1 (at least in Benicia).

-- Don

I don't know about the latest set of HD channels, but I just got something in the mail that says the digital switchover is planned for September 1 (at least in Benicia).

I got the same letter today (got a similar one a few months ago) but it's a typical Comcast "it's coming soon" letter. What it says is to contact Comcast by 9/1 so that your equipment arrives on time. That is still too vague to me. It doesn't really indicate when the reclaiming of the analogues will actually be done. For all I know we won't see any HD improvements until October or later.

And I wonder if part of the program and why these switchovers are staggered is for trucks to go around removing filter traps?

And I wonder if part of the program and why these switchovers are staggered is for trucks to go around removing filter traps?

The traps have to stay for limited basic customers, so there is no change related to the traps.

In response to the macroblocking problems described by others...

In Fremont, CA it's been doing this for a few days now and it's so bad that it's completely unwatchable as the screen sometimes goes black, audio cuts out, audio loses sync with video, etc. I called Comcast support yesterday and the first girl I talked to doesn't know anything about it, then comes back after "checking with her manager" and informs me that it's all SyFy's fault because they changed their call letters, Comcast dropped them from the lineup (huh?!) and someday they'd be added back. She was about as knowledgeable as a Fry's computer salesman; she probably didn't even know whether or not she was lying to me. I was rather irked by her explanation and asked to be transferred to her supervisor, assuming that person wouldn't be a moron. After making me hold 5 minutes on the phone, I was disconnected. Yay for customer service!

I called back a second time and got somebody who said he'd received multiple calls about the same issue that day and while I think he was only guessing, he said the problem was at SyFy's end and not Comcast's. I'll watch the low-def channel for the time being.

http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/games

Here's the regular season list:
(all games on Thursday nights with a 5:20 Pacific kickoff unless otherwise noted)

11/12 - Bears at 49ersThis one should be on the local channel also, if they continue the practice from past years.

The traps have to stay for limited basic customers, so there is no change related to the traps.

You mean the digital Extended Basic are still going to be mapped to the trap area? Kind of a waste of bandwidth. Either that or it means that Comcast is going to continue with their horky packages programs I like to call Digital Three Card Monty. I think they could retain customers and make more money doing the packages way differently but apparently they prefer being sleezy.

You mean the digital Extended Basic are still going to be mapped to the trap area? Kind of a waste of bandwidth.

The digital expanded basic SD channels cannot be encrypted (to work with DTA), so they have to be located within the trap frequencies. Other encrypted channels can go there as well, so there is no waste of bandwidth.

The digital expanded basic SD channels cannot be encrypted (to work with DTA), so they have to be located within the trap frequencies. Other encrypted channels can go there as well, so there is no waste of bandwidth.

You're not the first person to tell me this. I've heard (and want to believe) the DTAs don't have any decryption capability. So is Comcast just lying when they say those channels won't work with your existing digital TV? From the Comcast DigitalNow FAQ: (http://comcast.com/digitalnow/FAQs.aspx?map=all_faq_map)

31. Will I need equipment if I have a digital TV with a QAM tuner?
At the completion of the project, customers will need equipment on all TVs to receive any channels above the Limited Basic level of service—of course, this is now the case with most video providers, including our satellite and phone competitors. We’re encouraging all customers to install and use the equipment provided by Comcast or that they might purchase from their electronics retailer, like a TIVO or cable card enabled devices, to avoid any service interruptions.

If you don't want to deal with channel numbers like 119.89 that change without notice, they ain't lying.

Anyone lose FNC?

If you don't want to deal with channel numbers like 119.89 that change without notice, they ain't lying.

VMC (w/t TV Pack 2008) and 7MC automagically map the channels for you into the guide. It's already doing so for the 40+ Clear QAM channels I'm receiving now. So maybe it's just that a plain DTV tuner won't be able to map the channel numbers correctly? I thought the call letter info was encoded in channel somehow...

Anyone lose FNC?

I hope so.:p

Just installed DTA box. TV is about 5 y.o. Sony 20"?. Says in instructions can activate box online or by phone. Couldn't find any place under my acct. to activate so called. Phone menu now has "tree" branch to push button if you want to activate. India CS got the box working within a couple minutes. Whole phone process took less than 10 min.
Picture is many times better than before!! The free box lets me get all the digital channels that I couldn't get on that set before. Only could get analoge channels.

I didn't think they were doing the change over til August. Works for me, very well, now.

...mike

So maybe it's just that a plain DTV tuner won't be able to map the channel numbers correctly?Yes, like 99.8% of people have. (PC tuner cards and command line software isn't for everyone...)
I thought the call letter info was encoded in channel somehow...It is on some channels, and it can be on all, if Comcast wanted it to be that way.

Just installed DTA box. TV is about 5 y.o. Sony 20"?. Says in instructions can activate box online or by phone. Couldn't find any place under my acct. to activate so called. Phone menu now has "tree" branch to push button if you want to activate. India CS got the box working within a couple minutes. Whole phone process took less than 10 min.
Picture is many times better than before!! The free box lets me get all the digital channels that I couldn't get on that set before. Only could get analoge channels.

I didn't think they were doing the change over til August. Works for me, very well, now.

...mike

OK. Can someone tell me why they had to "activate" the DTA before it could receive the digital channels? How would one do this for a PC DTC?

OK. Can someone tell me why they had to "activate" the DTA before it could receive the digital channels?
Even though DTA cannot have decryption capability, Comcast can still control the box.

How would one do this for a PC DTC?
There is nothing to be done.

OK. I guess it's just wait and see mode until they make the switch. As of today SyFy analog broadcast still there.

No worries. They'll just pull the RG6 through the wall and run it down the side of the building. Comcast would rather have the lines in place to serve more customers.

Man I hope you are right. I've been having problems with my HSI and low freq channels for over a month now, mainly with the upstream levels for the HSI (since it's also very low freq). It keeps spiking and the modem has to re-sync :\ I've had 2 tech come, and submit it to the network guys who say "there's no problem." I've checked all my wiring and equipment, all looks good. So the only thing is the drop line to my apartment or them messing something up due to analog upgrades... Going to wait out until the upgrades go through and see, but if they can run a new line that easy it'll save me lots of headaches :)

PS. My apartment was also build in the 60's, but before there was any talk about upgrades all the services were rock solid, so if anyone has any insight as to what might be happening let me know.

Did the tech check the signal strength at you modem? Several years ago I was suddenly having problems with the HSI. Tech came out and replaced modem. It would still not sync with network. Finally, he went out the the street and replaced the attenuation with a smaller one. No problems since.

I have noticed that signal strength seems to vary over the day. Then every once in a while, the low analog channels (2-6) will get very bad. Lasts for a few days then comes back to normal. During that time my HSI stays OK.

Greg

Man I hope you are right. I've been having problems with my HSI and low freq channels for over a month now, mainly with the upstream levels for the HSI (since it's also very low freq). It keeps spiking and the modem has to re-sync :\ I've had 2 tech come, and submit it to the network guys who say "there's no problem." I've checked all my wiring and equipment, all looks good. So the only thing is the drop line to my apartment or them messing something up due to analog upgrades... Going to wait out until the upgrades go through and see, but if they can run a new line that easy it'll save me lots of headaches :)

PS. My apartment was also build in the 60's, but before there was any talk about upgrades all the services were rock solid, so if anyone has any insight as to what might be happening let me know.

I just got back all the analog channels for extended basic. What's up with that?

I just got back all the analog channels for extended basic. What's up with that?

I never lost them. They haven't turned them off yet, but they did add a bunch of digital channels. Up to 41 now.

They get turned off on Weds here so I'll be sure to do a scan with the HDHR to see where things have moved.

Anyone lose FNC?
It's been on and off (at least on HD) where I live - I had it on Saturday morning at 10, but when I tried tuning to it on Sunday evening, I didn't get any signal.

-- Don

It just showed up out of nowhere today with a solid selection of movies, specials and series.

Very strange. I couldn't access any program on HBO HD On Demand and kept getting a CL-14 error. I called Comcast and after awhile the rep asked me to punch up a Showtime HD program which I did. He had me go back into HBO HD OD and sure enough programs came up normally. The rep thought that somehow calling up another premium initialized the HBO stuff. I suppose it makes as much sense as anything else.

Just got a letter today saying that I've been receiving full access to Comcast's On Demand which is beyond the scope of what my subscription allows. As a Limited Basic customer you will lose all access to On Demand effective August 25, 2009.

But I can subscribe for $29.99 for 6 months to digital starter package... Lucky me!

Russ

Just got a letter today saying that I've been receiving full access to Comcast's On Demand which is beyond the scope of what my subscription allows. As a Limited Basic customer you will lose all access to On Demand effective August 25, 2009.

But I can subscribe for $29.99 for 6 months to digital starter package... Lucky me!

Russ

Interesting, I thought On Demand was available to any Comcast cable TV sub, all you needed was their STB, in fact, I thought that was one of their big selling points.

You might be able to get that Digital Starter price for 12 or 24 months, I know it's available in Santa Rosa, or was as of 2 weeks ago. When combined with the HSI promo it's a pretty darn good deal.

Yeah, you need Digital Starter to get access to OnDemand, as a "service" to customers Comcast has that plan, Limited Basic, where you only have access to locals and few other channels under channel 30 or so.

And of course if you have a QAM tuner you have access to whatever is available at the moment in you area.

Yup, HBO HD OnDemand is back but I didn't try any shows to see if it actually worked. I wonder how long Comcast is going use this "tiered" model. If someone only wants a few channels in the 2nd tier they are paying an enormous tax to get those channels. That's not going to work very well in a bad economy. I don't know how they decide those tiers either as there are little differences in the cost of programming between the tiers.

Speaking of OnDemand I watched "Silk" which was OnDemand HD from Sundance. But it looked like an upscale of an online video not even a DVD quality upscale. I'm an Asian horror fan and liked the movie too bad it wasn't really HD.

My visit wasn't as lucky (Foster City office).
I was not given the Digital Starter promotion as he claimed I didn't qualify because I already have the Digital Starter package.
He gave me the HSI promo, but was not very happy about it.
Does anyone know the terms for the Digital Starter deal?

It was at the office, I was in the neighborhood and decided to see what they had. I had to wait a bit, but I just asked if they had any deals going on and she told me about the Digital Starter for $29.95, which includes HBO for free, one or two year, and the $29.95 16/2 HSI promo good for for 1 year. I jumped all over it since I was paying $73 per month for just Limited Basic and 16/2 HSI currently. It's a savings of over $1450 over the 2 years, enough to buy a second TiVo and still have $1000 left over. :D

It wasn't any hassle at all, all I did was ask. By the way, the people via the phone know nothing about the deal, possibly it's an in-office promo only.

Just got a letter today saying that I've been receiving full access to Comcast's On Demand which is beyond the scope of what my subscription allows. As a Limited Basic customer you will lose all access to On Demand effective August 25, 2009.

But I can subscribe for $29.99 for 6 months to digital starter package... Lucky me!

Russ

Me too. I guess that explains why I've been getting extra channels beyond what my plan allows.

On the few programs I watch live, the volume on many of the ads is ear shattering. This seems to manifest itself mostly on cable channels where Comcast inserts local ads.
It was always bad. Now it is so bad I sometimes just start the DVR, turn off the TV for a while, and then skip thru the ads later.

I do watch most programs via DVR. However, I would like to watch news live. (I record baseball games so I can cut the game by an hour or more.) HLN seems to be the worst offender - but they are all bad.

...mike

Was dinking around with FusionHDTV tuners tonight and happened to run a channel scan...Shazam! There are over a dozen SD stations now on my cable with PSIP station IDs (and proper virtual channel numbers--although FusionHDTV doesn't properly decode those yet, but my TViX does)!! Some of them even have EIT info. Way to go Comcast!

When this is on all the headends everybody with a QAM TV tuner will have a sensible list of cable channels to use.

However, I would like to watch news live.

If you watch news just 10-15 minutes behind "live", you can easily skip the commercials.

Has anybody else encountered QAM channels going to black (off-air) on Comcast?

Just about every show we watch except the news is time-slipped, but in the last few weeks there have been several times when the recording is black or goes to black during broadcast. They are not Comcast DVRs and there is no STB as they have ATSC tuners and we are recording the QAM channels.

The incidents have occurred on both basic and expanded channels.

ESPN2 (42.8) During Wimbledon it went black on one day about an hour in and did not come back for about 5 hours. Note: ESPN2 was on 42.8 and 84.9, it is now only on 84.9.

Fox (2.1) In late June my wife was watching "So You Think You Can Dance", about halfway through a commercial ended and the screen went black for the rest of the show.

NBC (11.1) Two weeks ago my wife's 2-hour recording of "America's Got Talent" was black from start to finish.

TNT (84.7) Monday night, the "Closer" was almost ended when the screen froze, went black and stayed that way through "Raising the Bar"

If nobody else has been having this problem then it is unlikely to be Comcast (Saratoga), so need to be consider the possibility of the DVRs misbehaving.

Thanks

Channels 35-70 are still available in analog here though today they were supposed to be gone for this area. My guess is what they meant to say was "at the earliest the changeover will take place on July 22nd." :D

Just got a letter today saying that I've been receiving full access to Comcast's On Demand which is beyond the scope of what my subscription allows. As a Limited Basic customer you will lose all access to On Demand effective August 25, 2009.

But I can subscribe for $29.99 for 6 months to digital starter package... Lucky me!

RussI got the same letter. I only had the STB for HD and was just happy to see On Demand. If they shut down On Demand, I may even cancel HD since I get it on my QAM TV's and hardly ever use the STB anyway.

I have a Sony KDL46Z4100 which has TVGOS. It is connected directly to Comcast cable. The TVGOS initially only showed the limited basic channels. The expanded basic channels were tuned at various random channels and can be viewed but are not automatically included in the program guide. I have discovered that I can manually add the expanded basic channels to the TVGOS, and further that the guide will then show the program information for those channels. For example, CNN is tuned as 85.7 on my cable. There is an entry for CNN in the TVGOS, but it is turned off. By turning it on and setting it to tune 85.7, CNN becomes available in my TVGOS. Further, after a while the program info (i.e. what is on at any given time) is also shown in the guide. This is a great solution for watching expanded basic without the need for a Comcast STB. The obvious downside, is that I would need to reprogram if/when channels are shifted. I have not encountered that as yet.

Channels 35-70 are still available in analog here though today they were supposed to be gone for this area. My guess is what they meant to say was "at the earliest the changeover will take place on July 22nd." :D

Our letter said May 1st, and it still hasn't happened. I wouldn't hold your breath.

Has anybody else encountered QAM channels going to black (off-air) on Comcast?

Thanks

I am in Oakland. On Wednesday morning Versus HD was black during the live coverage of the Tour de France stage (at least 3:30am through 9am). Fortunately, I was also recording the SD version on my old TiVO which came through just fine.

I was working from home and was not able to recheck the channel until about 10am, at which point it was fine.

I've been recording the race for every stage (July 4), and today's stage was the first time I saw any disruption. It was also one of the key, if not the key, stages of the race.

> Versus HD was black during the live coverage of the Tour de France stage

Thanks for that aforkosh, at least I'm not alone. Glad you had a backup in SD.

Encountered a 2-hour recording that started black and came good about 7 minutes in earlier today.

It acts like a signal quality problem since it is random and across many different channels, but am seeing no internet problems, which I would expect if signal quality was down.

Regarding the Tour de France blackout on Versus, are you sure it wasn't due coverage on another channel, ESPN for example, maybe they had the rights for the time period?

Was dinking around with FusionHDTV tuners tonight and happened to run a channel scan...Shazam! There are over a dozen SD stations now on my cable with PSIP station IDs (and proper virtual channel numbers--although FusionHDTV doesn't properly decode those yet, but my TViX does)!! Some of them even have EIT info. Way to go Comcast!

When this is on all the headends everybody with a QAM TV tuner will have a sensible list of cable channels to use.

Wow, really? What channels?

I just had a TiVo message tonight indicating that a change had been made to my lineup, it listed the KNTV channels with their OTA numbering of 11-1, 11-2, and 11-3. I presume this means Comcast has actually added PSIP to KNTV which in the past seemed to be a hit or miss proposition.

Regarding the Tour de France blackout on Versus, are you sure it wasn't due coverage on another channel, ESPN for example, maybe they had the rights for the time period?

Then why would it be on the SD version of the channel? Also, Versus had been promoting that stage as special since the beginning of the tour.

Something strange is going on. For several hours tonight, it appears that ESPNHD has no sound. I didn't do an extensive survey but didn't see this problem on other channels (including the two adjacent to it).

my espnHD has lost sound too :(

For those who subscribe to HBO (or got a year for free like me), looks like we finally have HBO HD On Demand now.

This hasnt been talked about lately but is this comin tuesday the 28th still the date for the rest of the bay area to upgrade to DOCSIS 3.0?

This hasnt been talked about lately but is this comin tuesday the 28th still the date for the rest of the bay area to upgrade to DOCSIS 3.0?

Sigh. Why even ask. Every date we've been given up to now has been wrong.

Sigh. Why even ask. Every date we've been given up to now has been wrong.

So do we have a new date or it's unknown?

Wow, really? What channels {have PSIP info now on San Carlos cable}?It seems that all of the broadcast locals now do. They all have call letters and virtual channels. Curiously, the virtual channel assignments are a mixed bag. Some show up with their OTA v.c., such as "14", and others with "2xx" Comcast-style numbers, such as "202" and "209" (for KTVU and KQED).

I just had a TiVo message tonight indicating that a change had been made to my lineup, it listed the KNTV channels with their OTA numbering of 11-1, 11-2, and 11-3. I presume this means Comcast has actually added PSIP to KNTV which in the past seemed to be a hit or miss proposition.Yes, KNTV-DT...er, ",DKNTV" has PSIP here. I wish that Comcast would correct the typo that they have in the call letters! It's been that way for months.

Wow, really? What channels?
Started couple of days ago.
I think Comcast is trying to add the virtual channel to match OTA for the local channels. Although not everything is right yet.

I'm in San Mateo and have the following channels with PSIP ID: (The ID I type may not be exact since I have no access to my TV now).

2.1 KTVU HD
2.2 KTVU DT2
5.1 KPIX HD
7.1 KGO HD
7.2 KGODT
7.3 KGODT2
9.1 KQED HD
9.2 KQED DT2
11.1 KNTV HD
11.2 KNTVDT2
11.3 KNTVDT3
14.1 KDTV
22.1 KRCB
26.1 KTSF
32.1 KMPT
36.1 KICU HD
36.2 KICUDT2
38.1 KCSN
65.1 KKPX HD
66.1 KSFS
68.1 KTLN

They were picked up by my Sumsang TV automatically (almost) and with a rescan, VMC+TV pack were able to automatically associate with the correct guide.

There are also SD version of the major network wit PSIP ID, mapped to 2XX.X. To me those are just randomly assigned and even with the PSIP ID, VMC+TV pack were still not able to automatically associate with the correct guide.

Looking at SiliconDust's info, I noticed that all the new SD channels that has the PSIP ID added are subchannels from the same 2 physical channel (87 & 88). Not that it really matters.

Looks like a good start. And I wish it continue and match all the local lineup with the OTA channel numbers (as well as add all the sub channels from the OTA channels).

i got similar results the about three nights ago with my samsung (external standalone) tuner. in addition to that lineup i noticed it *also* detected "202" "209" and so on .

It is a known issue by COMCAST. I just got off the phone with them. I have the same problem with ESPN sound and also no picture on AMC 769 in Oakland.

I suspect that when they actually do the changeover we'll get a Message on the boxes. After not everyone would have read the notice they got in the mail.

How come I can watch the A's/Yankees via DirecTV but via Comcast I can't, it's just dead air? Is it working for anyone else?

How come I can watch the A's/Yankees via DirecTV but via Comcast I can't, it's just dead air? Is it working for anyone else?
It's working in San Ramon on channel 721

I am in Oakland. On Wednesday morning Versus HD was black during the live coverage of the Tour de France stage (at least 3:30am through 9am). Fortunately, I was also recording the SD version on my old TiVO which came through just fine.

I was working from home and was not able to recheck the channel until about 10am, at which point it was fine.

I've been recording the race for every stage (July 4), and today's stage was the first time I saw any disruption. It was also one of the key, if not the key, stages of the race.
My TivoHD missed the Wed morning HD recording as well in Sunnyvale. It just did not record the program due to the channel authorization (???) The repeats weren't recorded since my TivoHD thought it has been recorded already.

I was able to catch the two last climbs at home on the final repeat broadcast on TV once I realized my TivoHD missed to recorded.

VersusHD looks great in HD, especially the helicopter shots, but I do occasionally notice macro-blocking on fast action close ups. I am not sure if this is coming from the source (hand-held camera on motorcycles) or Comcast/TivoHD issue.

It's working in San Ramon on channel 721

It's working now, couldn't check it earlier as both tuners were in use recording. I'll have to check it the next time a game is on.

How come I can watch the A's/Yankees via DirecTV but via Comcast I can't, it's just dead air? Is it working for anyone else?

Whole game came in fine in HD on 721 in Okld. I always DVR the game and start watching an hour or later after the start. I always skip thru each 1/2 inning change and sometimes 30 sec. skip between batters. (Miss the first pitch about 1/2 the time if I do that.) Cuts an hour or more off the time. Do the same w. the few football games I watch. No half time for me,G>.

...mike

Whole game came in fine in HD on 721 in Okld. I always DVR the game and start watching an hour or later after the start. I always skip thru each 1/2 inning change and sometimes 30 sec. skip between batters. (Miss the first pitch about 1/2 the time if I do that.) Cuts an hour or more off the time. Do the same w. the few football games I watch. No half time for me,G>.

...mike

I'm not sure why it wasn't working for me, there's a game at 10am tomorrow, I'll see what happens then. I don't seem to get any guide info(To be announced) on that channel ever. On CSNBA I get game listings occasionally, but most of the time it says "Sign Off".

Why is it so difficult to get guide info for these channels? Presumably Comcast would want people to watch after going through the effort of providing them. So why do they almost always say "sign off" or "to be announced"?

I'm not sure why it wasn't working for me, there's a game at 10am tomorrow, I'll see what happens then. I don't seem to get any guide info(To be announced) on that channel ever. On CSNBA I get game listings occasionally, but most of the time it says "Sign Off".

Why is it so difficult to get guide info for these channels? Presumably Comcast would want people to watch after going through the effort of providing them. So why do they almost always say "sign off" or "to be announced"?

Jim,

On those channels that you are getting " to be announced " or " sign off " are you talking about your Comcast box or your Tivo box ??

If it's your Comcast box then the head end needs to be notified that the guide is not correct. If you're talking about your Tivo box, try redoing the guide setup for your area code, that worked for me on a couple of channels on my TivoHD that were showing " to be announced " or had no guide data. What I did was to say, I don't know, on every channel that was asked and it finally asked me if I was on Milpitas extended digital to which I said yes, that finally worked and I got the proper guide data.

Laters,
Mikef5

Jim,

On those channels that you are getting " to be announced " or " sign off " are you talking about your Comcast box or your Tivo box ??

If it's your Comcast box then the head end needs to be notified that the guide is not correct. If you're talking about your Tivo box, try redoing the guide setup for your area code, that worked for me on a couple of channels on my TivoHD that were showing " to be announced " or had no guide data. What I did was to say, I don't know, on every channel that was asked and it finally asked me if I was on Milpitas extended digital to which I said yes, that finally worked and I got the proper guide data.

Laters,
Mikef5

I get the "to be announced" on CSNCA and "sign off" on CSNBA although it(CSNBA) does list the MLB games. CSNCA never seems to list anything. This is all on the TiVo box, I guess it's a TiVo problem.

I get the "to be announced" on CSNCA and "sign off" on CSNBA although it(CSNBA) does list the MLB games. CSNCA never seems to list anything. This is all on the TiVo box, I guess it's a TiVo problem.

Yep, try the procedure that I used... Redo the guide setup and say you don't know for every channel it asks you about, eventually it will ask you if you are in the Santa Rosa extended digital area and use that. I assume the last question will be that, that's what happened when I tried it. Can't hurt except, the guide data will have to update again and the Giant's game is coming on soon ( 5 pm ) and I know you don't want to miss that ;) :p.

Laters,
Mikef5

Yep, try the procedure that I used... Redo the guide setup and say you don't know for every channel it asks you about, eventually it will ask you if you are in the Santa Rosa extended digital area and use that. I assume the last question will be that, that's what happened when I tried it. Can't hurt except, the guide data will have to update again and the Giant's game is coming on soon ( 5 pm ) and I know you don't want to miss that ;) :p.

Laters,
Mikef5

Trying that now, hopefully it will solve the problem.


BTW, I really wish Comcast would stop 3-pakking their cablenet channels now that they have a bit more room. I did a comparison of a scene from Eureka on Syfy last night. In the scene, there's 2 people standing still and a third passing by them. With DirecTV that passing person is perfectly clear with no artifacting or blocking. With the Comcast version the artifacting was so bad it was hard to tell it was a person that passed by, all you saw were a bunch scattered red blocks. At that point I decided to check for detail in the 2 images and without a doubt the DirecTV image was sharper than Comcast's, which was on the softer side. You can see this especially in skin and hair features.

Anyway, not really complaining, just making observations, it's too bad Comcast lost the picture quality crown to the numbers battle of having more HD channels.

Trying that now, hopefully it will solve the problem.


BTW, I really wish Comcast would stop 3-pakking their cablenet channels now that they have a bit more room. I did a comparison of a scene from Eureka on Syfy last night. In the scene, there's 2 people standing still and a third passing by them. With DirecTV that passing person is perfectly clear with no artifacting or blocking. With the Comcast version the artifacting was so bad it was hard to tell it was a person that passed by, all you saw were a bunch scattered red blocks. At that point I decided to check for detail in the 2 images and without a doubt the DirecTV image was sharper than Comcast's, which was on the softer side. You can see this especially in skin and hair features.

Anyway, not really complaining, just making observations, it's too bad Comcast lost the picture quality crown to the numbers battle of having more HD channels.

Yep, to many people where counting channel numbers and bitching about it and it seems that picture quality lost out. People should really think about what they want.... they just might get it... at a cost !!! Do you want more HD channels, at the cost of picture quality or do you want better picture quality, at the cost of the number of channels available ? You're not going to get both at least for now. Right now picture quality, at least in my area, is fine but when all those new HD channels come in August I'll be watching closely. ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

Yep, to many people where counting channel numbers and bitching about it and it seems that picture quality lost out. People should really think about what they want.... they just might get it... at a cost !!! Do you want more HD channels, at the cost of picture quality or do you want better picture quality, at the cost of the number of channels available ? You're not going to get both at least for now. Right now picture quality, at least in my area, is fine but when all those new HD channels come in August I'll be watching closely. ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

You say PQ is fine where you're at, but if you don't have anything to compare it with then it's hard to know how good or bad it really is. The difference I noticed last night was striking and the reason why I even mentioned. It reminds me of the comparison I did with HBO a few weeks back, fast motion doesn't do so well on a number of Comcast's channels.


The guide is all re-done and it looks exactly as it was before, I guess I'm destined to never know what's on those channels. :p

You say PQ is fine where you're at, but if you don't have anything to compare it with then it's hard to know how good or bad it really is. The difference I noticed last night was striking and the reason why I even mentioned. It reminds me of the comparison I did with HBO a few weeks back, fast motion doesn't do so well on a number of Comcast's channels.


The guide is all re-done and it looks exactly as it was before, I guess I'm destined to never know what's on those channels. :p
Ok, one more thing to try. Try using another zip code rather than the one for Santa Rosa. Use one of the fully upgraded areas like Milpitas 95035. You should have the same line up as I do. If all you want is guide info that should work, the Tivo doesn't care if you lie to it :p

Actually, I do have an OTA setup to check the local stuff. My Panasonic allows a split screen with 2 HD sources but I can't do that for premium channels or channels out of the extended channel line up like CSNBA or CSNCA. Oh well, one day when I'm rich maybe I can afford to have multiple providers like some people do in Santa Rosa :p;).

Well, the Giant's game is starting ......

Laters,
Mikef5

Just to double-check, right now the guide info for the Giant's game says "Sign Off" for me, does it show actual game info for you?

I'll try the other zipcode thing, seems to me that's what I had to do to get my HDMR/Sage guide to have the correct channels awhile back, think I used Petaluma, although they're a 750 so that won't here.

Regarding the PQ, the local channels(including the RSNs and a few others, ESPN etc) are not the problem, they're fine with Comcast, it's the cablenets that Comcast is 3:1 muxing that are the problem. They may think they have it working right, but direct comparison says otherwise.

Just to double-check, right now the guide info for the Giant's game says "Sign Off" for me, does it show actual game info for you?

I'll try the other zipcode thing, seems to me that's what I had to do to get my HDMR/Sage guide to have the correct channels awhile back, think I used Petaluma, although they're a 750 so that won't here.

Regarding the PQ, the local channels(including the RSNs and a few others, ESPN etc) are not the problem, they're fine with Comcast, it's the cablenets that Comcast is 3:1 muxing that are the problem. They may think they have it working right, but direct comparison says otherwise.
Jim,

Well, it might have been better if I hadn't watched the game :(
I was hoping Sanchez would have done better since he's got to know that he's close to being dropped/traded from the team but I guess not. Now where did I put those antacid tablet's ?

To answer your question, I get all guide info for channels 720 and 721 on my Tivo-HD, the one channel that I don't get info for is the Cartoon Channel HD channel 766 but I've been to lazy to try and get it updated by Tivo and I don't really watch a lot of cartoons soooo....

About the picture quality, I think it really varies from area to area but like you said I don't have another source to compare but to my tired old eyes they look fine ;)

Laters,]
Mikef5

Bravo HD, channel 733, has had no picture for at least 16 hours now. I've contacted NBC transmission services, they claim it looks fine from their end. Does anyone else have the same problem?

Bravo HD, channel 733, has had no picture for at least 16 hours now. I've contacted NBC transmission services, they claim it looks fine from their end. Does anyone else have the same problem?

Just checked here in Newark and I am not having this problem.

Bravo HD, channel 733, has had no picture for at least 16 hours now. I've contacted NBC transmission services, they claim it looks fine from their end. Does anyone else have the same problem?

Working here in my area. You said you're getting no picture, are you getting sound and is this the only channel affected ?

Laters,
Mikef5

Not working here in Berkeley. Oh wait, I dont get this channel :rolleyes:

Can you fellow SF Bay Area subscribers check to see whether HBO HD is still listed in the On Demand HD menu section? I still have it but it's disappeared from the HD/Premium section of VOD. I now have to go to the regular Premium section, then to HBO and then to HBO HD to get to it. I'm in Vallejo.

I checked for this over the weekend and I didn't see HBO VOD anywhere, yet I am subscribed to HBO as part of my package.

Comcast.com shows as Fremont having access to 50Mbps internet now (Shop -> High-Speed Internet). But I called Comcast and the service rep said it's not available in Fremont yet.

Dang, I thought Docsis 3.0 was finally here!

Can you fellow SF Bay Area subscribers check to see whether HBO HD is still listed in the On Demand HD menu section? I still have it but it's disappeared from the HD/Premium section of VOD. I now have to go to the regular Premium section, then to HBO and then to HBO HD to get to it. I'm in Vallejo.

Since it came out in HD, I've always accessed it through the regular premium section. I never saw it in the HD/premium section.

Comcast.com shows as Fremont having access to 50Mbps internet now (Shop -> High-Speed Internet). But I called Comcast and the service rep said it's not available in Fremont yet.

Dang, I thought Docsis 3.0 was finally here!

It might only be available for business accounts. Supposedly the 50mb/s service is here in Santa Rosa as well, but only for business accounts, so says the CSR at the Comcast office...

I checked for this over the weekend and I didn't see HBO VOD anywhere, yet I am subscribed to HBO as part of my package.
It was listed under HD OnDemand->Premium Channels. Then it disappeared but if you go to OnDemand and select Premium Channels->HBO you'll find the HBO HD listings there. Sometimes I wonder if they have interns taking care of the listings. :(

The card I got in the mail says August 23rd for the big HD upgrade, but other places I've seen the 11th. Anyone know what the real date is? I'd prefer before the 23rd - that's the next F1 race and I'd love to finally see one on SpeedHD.

Can you fellow SF Bay Area subscribers check to see whether HBO HD is still listed in the On Demand HD menu section? I still have it but it's disappeared from the HD/Premium section of VOD. I now have to go to the regular Premium section, then to HBO and then to HBO HD to get to it. I'm in Vallejo.

They've removed it temporarily from the HD/Premium section of VOD so you're not alone. It was removed because there were various reports of subscribers receiving error messages when trying to access HBO HD via the HD/Premium folder ( "CL-14" being a common example of that). So until they fix the bug that causing the error messages, we'll just have to go to the regular premium channels folder, then HBO, then HBO HD.

Just got my "Great News! More HD" Flyer today. Date says September 12. I am in Redwood Shores. Hopefully they stick to the date!

Hey guys, I decided to look again at what comcast has to offer through their triple play bundles but got a little confused about the packages. They have three different packages listed under the same name with slight variations. If anyone knows the major differences between these three please let me know: http://yantrabg.net/comcast/ I see that the 3rd one is only for 12 months, but why does it have 150+ digital channels instead of 100 like in the other two.

Also if anyone knows, what does "HD Plus Triple" equal to in terms of Digital Classic, Digital Preferred, etc, so I can see exactly what channels I'll get with it from the comcast website. And finally, since I have 2 HDTV's I assume I would have to pay for a 2nd box, but at what price?

Thanks!

Hey guys, I decided to look again at what comcast has to offer through their triple play bundles but got a little confused about the packages. They have three different packages listed under the same name with slight variations. If anyone knows the major differences between these three please let me know: http://yantrabg.net/comcast/ I see that the 3rd one is only for 12 months, but why does it have 150+ digital channels instead of 100 like in the other two.

Also if anyone knows, what does "HD Plus Triple" equal to in terms of Digital Classic, Digital Preferred, etc, so I can see exactly what channels I'll get with it from the comcast website. And finally, since I have 2 HDTV's I assume I would have to pay for a 2nd box, but at what price?

Thanks!
Don't know what that site is but it's not the official Comcast website. If I were you I'd go to www.comcast.com and get the real skinny on what's available to you and not go through an unknown site or a reseller site like that. Just my 2 cents ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

Don't know what that site is but it's not the official Comcast website. If I were you I'd go to www.comcast.com and get the real skinny on what's available to you and not go through an unknown site or a reseller site like that. Just my 2 cents ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

It is right off the official site, I just took screenshots and added them to my site so you can see what I'm seeing. You can check it for zip 94086.

Hey guys, I decided to look again at what comcast has to offer through their triple play bundles but got a little confused about the packages. They have three different packages listed under the same name with slight variations. If anyone knows the major differences between these three please let me know: http://yantrabg.net/comcast/ I see that the 3rd one is only for 12 months, but why does it have 150+ digital channels instead of 100 like in the other two.

Also if anyone knows, what does "HD Plus Triple" equal to in terms of Digital Classic, Digital Preferred, etc, so I can see exactly what channels I'll get with it from the comcast website. And finally, since I have 2 HDTV's I assume I would have to pay for a 2nd box, but at what price?

Thanks!

The three you listed are the the HD Plus Package - so you should be getting the same channels no matter which you choose. The three bundles available are Starter, Plus, and Premier.

The first and second image are the exact same package, the third image looks like it has a higher intro price because it has a shorter term agreement.

As for the equipment, the price would depend if you would want DVR or not.

Sounds good, thanks! I see that the DVR is 16$, but is that just 16$ or 16$ + The regular HD STB price?

It is right off the official site, I just took screenshots and added them to my site so you can see what I'm seeing. You can check it for zip 94086.

Honestly, in my experience, Comcast's websites are utterly worthless when it comes to getting details about what comes with what and how much it costs. I've often wondered why they even bother. You're better off going to a Comcast office to get the info.

721 in Okld for the first 60-90 min. of the A's/Boston game had constant blocking and freezing. Even the ads were feezing every few seconds. It seemed to clear up later - but the game, was really over by the 5th or 6th inning<G>. I switched to the SD channel for part of the game.

...mike

It is right off the official site, I just took screenshots and added them to my site so you can see what I'm seeing. You can check it for zip 94086.
Ok, didn't know that was your site. The problem with Comcast is that they make it difficult to compare the different packages without flipping back and forth between the pages. A lot of work and very confusing.

Personally, I'd go with a package that fits your budget, you can always upgrade to another package if you want to in the future and it costs you nothing to upgrade ( except the additional money for the new package :) ) but it will cost you to down grade to a lower package. Also, those offerings are for a 2 year contract, if you want to be tied to a long term contract like that, then those are good prices. One thing to remember, in August a lot of new channels are going to be added so the packages and their lineups are going to change when that happens.

I've been with cable since the early 80's ( TCI, AT&T and now Comcast ) and none of them made it easy for the customer to compare their offerings. Heck, try and compare packages between Directv, Dish and Cable. Now that's a real pain. Like they say in the Navy, It's not just an adventure it's a journey. Enjoy the journey ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

Sounds good, thanks! I see that the DVR is 16$, but is that just 16$ or 16$ + The regular HD STB price?

$16 includes STB w/HD+DVR.

You might be able to call in and ask for a discount on the STB.

I got $9 off my HD/DVR STB for the first 12 months when I signed up. I'm not sure if they still have this promo, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

The HD-DVR should be $16/mo. yes, for the 1st one. You also need a digital tier (but you'll want it anyway) those start around $52/mo. total.

Since a lot of people seem to be interested in the new Internet packages and when they will be available in their area..... this is for you ;)

____________________________________________________________ ___

COMCAST TO LAUNCH EXTREME 50 MBPS HIGH-SPEED INTERNET SERVICE

IN EAST BAY AND NORTH BAY, COMPLETING SAN FRANCISCO ROLLOUT



Comcast Introduces Two New, Faster Speed Tier Options and
Doubles Speeds For Most Existing Customers For No Additional Cost

New Speed Options Come to 76 Communities in Alameda, Marin, Napa,
Solano and Sonoma Counties

Wideband Now Available Throughout Comcast’s Bay Area Footprint

LIVERMORE, CA, July 28, 2009 – Comcast, (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications products and services, today announced it is launching next-generation DOCSIS 3.0 and making the leap from broadband to wideband in San Francisco’s East Bay and North Bay area’s (see complete list of cities below). With the launch, Comcast has now completed its rollout of the fastest and most reliable wideband service in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company previously deployed wideband in the San Jose-Silicon Valley area, in San Francisco and on the Peninsula, in portions of the East Bay and in the Monterey-Salinas area earlier this year.

With wideband, Comcast has introduced a new echelon of Internet speed tiers, which will redefine the customer experience online and create a platform for Internet innovation in the years ahead. Comcast now offers the fastest speeds available today in the Bay Area, including the Extreme 50 tier with download speeds of up to 50 Mbps. Wideband also enables Comcast to double speeds for the majority of existing high-speed Internet customers at no additional cost.

““Since we first launched wideband in the Spring we’ve heard from more and more customers interested in our new service-- driven by its fast speeds, our reliable network infrastructure, and the fact that the tech-savvy Bay Area residents want speed and value, which the new Ultra and Extreme 50 tiers deliver,” said Steve White, Senior Vice President of Comcast’s California Region. “Our customers’ online experience is significantly transformed with this next iteration of service, and this is only the beginning. Wideband, combined with our fiber-optic network, will allow us to meet our customers’ needs for many years to come by offering even quicker speeds in the future.”

Beginning today, Comcast’s new services are available to residential homes (and beginning August 4 to all businesses) in the following cities: Alameda, Albany, American Canyon, Belvedere, Benicia, Berkeley, Bodega Bay, Calistoga, Camp Meeker, Castro Valley, Cazadero, Cloverdale, Corte Madera, Cotati, Crockett, Deer Park, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Emeryville, Fairfax, Fairfield, Forest Knolls, Forestville, Fremont, Fulton, Geyserville, Glen Ellen, Graton, Greenbrae, Guerneville, Hayward, Healdsburg, Hercules, Kentfield, Kenwood, Kensington, Lagunitas, Larkspur, Mill Valley, Monte Rio, Napa, Newark, Novato, Oakland, Occidental, Penngrove, Petaluma, Piedmont, Pinole, Port Costa, Rio Nido, Rodeo, Rohnert Park, Ross, San Anselmo, San Geronimo, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, San Pablo, San Rafael, San Quentin, Richmond, Santa Rosa, Sausalito, Sebastopol, Sonoma, St. Helena, Suisun City, Tiburon, Travis Air Force Base, Union City, Vacaville, Vallejo, Windsor, Wood Acre and Yountville.

As part of the wideband deployment, Comcast is launching two new premium speed tiers to its residential and business class customers. Both new services are ideal for households or businesses simultaneously using several computers or Internet-connected devices. They also will appeal to those who simply want some of the fastest speeds available today:

New Residential Tiers

* Extreme 50, offering up to 50 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 10 Mbps of upstream speed at $99.95/month.*
* Ultra, offering up to 22 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 5 Mbps of upstream speed at $62.95/month.*

With Extreme 50, Comcast customers will be able to download a high-definition movie (6 GB) in about 16 minutes, a standard-definition movie (2 GB) in about five minutes and a standard-definition TV show (300 MB) in a matter of seconds. Customers with Extreme 50 also will be able to download digital photos, songs and games faster than ever.

In addition to the new speed tiers, Comcast will also increase speeds for its existing Performance tier customers, who will now benefit from doubled downstream and upstream speeds -- offering up to 12 Mbps and 2 Mbps, respectively. Plus, with PowerBoost® technology, customers are able to enjoy even faster speeds to download and upload files such as videos, games, music and photos.

New Business Class Tiers

Business customers will benefit from wideband with increased efficiency and productivity. Customers can sign up for the Deluxe 50 Mbps / 10 Mbps tier for $189.95/month, which includes a full suite of features and support. As part of their service, Comcast Business Class customers receive Microsoft Communication Services, providing corporate-class e-mail, calendaring and document sharing, as well as additional benefits such as firewall protection, static IP addresses, multiple e-mail addresses and business class 24/7 customer support. Existing business class customers also will receive complimentary speed increases – speeds on the Starter tier will be doubled to up to 12 Mbps / 2 Mbps and a new Premium Tier also will be introduced, offering speeds up to 22 Mbps / 5 Mbps for only $99.95/month.

To find out when wideband will be available customers can visit www.comcast.com/fastestfast or call
1-888-COMCAST.



* Pricing for residential customers and requires subscription to Comcast Cable service.

_________________________________________________________

So if you read between the lines, all these areas, 76 new areas, now get DOCSIS 3.0 and one of the requirements to get that added was to have the analog to digital shift complete in that area. That frees up bandwidth to add DOCSIS 3.0 and should also add enough bandwidth to add more HD channels to those areas and that is the real purpose why we have cable... to add more HD CHANNELS. I have to check to confirm that is the case but I know that was one of the criteria that needed to be completed first to add DOCSIS 3.0 and then to add those new HD channels for those areas.

Laters,
Mikef5

It was listed under HD OnDemand->Premium Channels. Then it disappeared but if you go to OnDemand and select Premium Channels->HBO you'll find the HBO HD listings there. Sometimes I wonder if they have interns taking care of the listings. :(

Yep, that's where it was.
Seems like all the HD choices should be grouped together in one place.

So if you read between the lines, all these areas, 76 new areas, now get DOCSIS 3.0 and one of the requirements to get that added was to have the analog to digital shift complete in that area. That frees up bandwidth to add DOCSIS 3.0 and should also add enough bandwidth to add more HD channels to those areas and that is the real purpose why we have cable... to add more HD CHANNELS. I have to check to confirm that is the case but I know that was one of the criteria that needed to be completed first to add DOCSIS 3.0 and then to add those new HD channels for those areas.


Maybe I'm confusing the issues but are you sure about this Mike? Believe me, I'm happy to see Vallejo actually listed but as far as I know the A to D shift hasn't begun here. The last letter from Comcast only said to order DTAs by 9/1 so that you would have them when the shift occurred (whenever that was).

Since a lot of people seem to be interested in the new Internet packages and when they will be available in their area..... this is for you ;)

____________________________________________________________ ___

COMCAST TO LAUNCH EXTREME 50 MBPS HIGH-SPEED INTERNET SERVICE

IN EAST BAY AND NORTH BAY, COMPLETING SAN FRANCISCO ROLLOUT





New Residential Tiers

* Extreme 50, offering up to 50 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 10 Mbps of upstream speed at $99.95/month.*
* Ultra, offering up to 22 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 5 Mbps of upstream speed at $62.95/month.*

With Extreme 50, Comcast customers will be able to download a high-definition movie (6 GB) in about 16 minutes, a standard-definition movie (2 GB) in about five minutes and a standard-definition TV show (300 MB) in a matter of seconds. Customers with Extreme 50 also will be able to download digital photos, songs and games faster than ever.

In addition to the new speed tiers, Comcast will also increase speeds for its existing Performance tier customers, who will now benefit from doubled downstream and upstream speeds -- offering up to 12 Mbps and 2 Mbps, respectively. Plus, with PowerBoost® technology, customers are able to enjoy even faster speeds to download and upload files such as videos, games, music and photos.


It doesn't mention anything about what happens to current 16/2 HSI customers, I thought when DOCSIS 3.0 was rolled out and they changed the speed tiers that 16/2 would no longer be offered, it would be 12/2 or 22/5.

Can you ask Mr. J about that?

It doesn't mention anything about what happens to current 16/2 HSI customers, I thought when DOCSIS 3.0 was rolled out and they changed the speed tiers that 16/2 would no longer be offered, it would be 12/2 or 22/5.

Can you ask Mr. J about that?

Take a look on your Comcast bill and look at what Tier you are being charged for: Performance or Blast.

Once you know whether you're being charged for Performance or Blast, look up your HSI options at comcast.com for your area. It will show what your new speeds are.

I'm thinking 16/2 pre Docsis 3.0 was the "Blast" tier. In my area, it now shows Blast at 20/4.

In addition to the new speed tiers, Comcast will also increase speeds for its existing Performance tier customers, who will now benefit from doubled downstream and upstream speeds -- offering up to 12 Mbps and 2 Mbps, respectively. Plus, with PowerBoost® technology, customers are able to enjoy even faster speeds to download and upload files such as videos, games, music and photos.


Also reading between the lines, customers in those areas who had 6/1 don't have 12/2 just yet, but they "will."

Take a look on your Comcast bill and look at what Tier you are being charged for: Performance or Blast.

Once you know whether you're being charged for Performance or Blast, look up your HSI options at comcast.com for your area. It will show what your new speeds are.

I'm thinking 16/2 pre Docsis 3.0 was the "Blast" tier. In my area, it now shows Blast at 20/4.

My area shows: Downloads up to 15Mbps, uploads up to 3Mbps with PowerBoost for the Performance Tier. I'm not sure that the site has changed yet.

The site is also showing some changes in the bottom of the HD lineup for the "North Bay" although they have not been initialized. Maybe it's new mapping in advance of adding new HDs (especially the gap between Palladia and HBO)?

762 CNBC- HD
766 Cartoon Network- HD
768 ABC Family - HD
769 Disney - HD
774 AMC - HD
783 Palladia - HD
801 HBO - HD
809 Encore- HD
816 STARZ! - HD
825 Showtime- HD
838 Cinemax - HD
854 Penthouse TV

Maybe I'm confusing the issues but are you sure about this Mike? Believe me, I'm happy to see Vallejo actually listed but as far as I know the A to D shift hasn't begun here. The last letter from Comcast only said to order DTAs by 9/1 so that you would have them when the shift occurred (whenever that was).
Cal,

You weren't confusing anything.... I was. :o
I just talked with Mr. J. and there are other things that need to be done other than the analog to digital shift. They are able to add DOCSIS 3.0 without doing the analog shift, how it was done I didn't find out but it was done. So the analog shift is still on it's own schedule and is moving right along. If I find out more on the shift I will post it but as far as I can find out, it is on schedule and no hold ups have occurred. I really want all the areas to be upgraded and able to get the new channels and they will in time, just not fast enough for most of us.

Laters,
Mikef5

Take a look on your Comcast bill and look at what Tier you are being charged for: Performance or Blast.

Once you know whether you're being charged for Performance or Blast, look up your HSI options at comcast.com for your area. It will show what your new speeds are.

I'm thinking 16/2 pre Docsis 3.0 was the "Blast" tier. In my area, it now shows Blast at 20/4.

Took awhile for the page to load, not unusual for a Comcast website, but it does show Blast as 20/4 as you've noted. It seems to jive with some speedtests I've run since the our system went down a few weeks ago, I've been getting around 20 down and and a little over 4 up and was curious what was going on. I guess that little mystery is solved.

That $29.95 promo for 16/2 HSI for a year I got a few weeks ago is looking even better now at 20/4. :D

My area shows: Downloads up to 15Mbps, uploads up to 3Mbps with PowerBoost for the Performance Tier. I'm not sure that the site has changed yet.

The site is also showing some changes in the bottom of the HD lineup for the "North Bay" although they have not been initialized. Maybe it's new mapping in advance of adding new HDs (especially the gap between Palladia and HBO)?

762 CNBC- HD
766 Cartoon Network- HD
768 ABC Family - HD
769 Disney - HD
774 AMC - HD
783 Palladia - HD
801 HBO - HD
809 Encore- HD
816 STARZ! - HD
825 Showtime- HD
838 Cinemax - HD
854 Penthouse TV

That HSI tier looks like the old 6/2 that was supposed to go to 12/2 with the DOCSIS 3.0 rollout, it looks like all the tiers are being advertised a little higher than previous DOCSIS 3.0 rollout areas, the 12/2 is now 15/3, etc.

Cal,

You weren't confusing anything.... I was. :o
I just talked with Mr. J. and there are other things that need to be done other than the analog to digital shift. They are able to add DOCSIS 3.0 without doing the analog shift, how it was done I didn't find out but it was done. So the analog shift is still on it's own schedule and is moving right along. If I find out more on the shift I will post it but as far as I can find out, it is on schedule and no hold ups have occurred. I really want all the areas to be upgraded and able to get the new channels and they will in time, just not fast enough for most of us.


No worries Mike. We should all be as confused as you:D

That HSI tier looks like the old 6/2 that was supposed to go to 12/2 with the DOCSIS 3.0 rollout, it looks like all the tiers are being advertised a little higher than previous DOCSIS 3.0 rollout areas, the 12/2 is now 15/3, etc.

It does clearly say "with PowerBoost" so I'm not sure what the actual baseline speed is that they're claiming.

It does clearly say "with PowerBoost" so I'm not sure what the actual baseline speed is that they're claiming.

That's true, it's not very clear, what would be of more value is what speed(s) exactly, the modem is configured for per each advertised tier. The way that page is now, it's impossible to know what to expect for a sustained download/upload.

Thinking of dumping DirecTV (13 year subscriber) for Comcast as they are running a great value bundle in my area. I don't know much about them other than "wicked-fast" internet. Can someone help me out with the below questions?

1. How is the quality of HD compared to DirecTV?
2. Is the DVR really that bad? DirecTV's wasn't too good even compared to my 1st gen TiVo
3. I can't get a straight answer about the number of HD channels (on the "HD Preferred" pkg)
4. What model of HD DVR and SD DVR (getting one of ea.) will I be getting so I can bone-up on hacks/tricks
5. What's on the horizon/timeframe for hardware changes for Comcast SF Bay Area?
6. What's on the horizon/timeframe for programming additions for Comcast Bay Area?

Thanks.

1. DirecTV has MUCH better PQ.
2. Yes it really is. Also only 120/160GB. I've used both and I can tell you this, the Comcast DVR is like taking the bus, DirecTV is like driving a VW bus. Yes it's much better, but no it's not particularly fast ... (Tivo is like driving a Porsche :))
3. Depends on where you live, they don't have every channel available in every area. Here, they are up to about 70 at last count. (DirecTV has 130)
4. Motorola DCT-34xx or DCH-34xx are the most common. You won't know what you get until the installer arrives.
5. None are planned, most of the Bay Area was upgraded in the last 2-3 years. There were rumors of going to SDV awhile ago, but who knows.
6. They add new HD channels all the time, next month I believe they are adding quite a few (51 HD channels) but again only in select cities.
*Here's the article on new channels, Aug 11 in select cities:
* http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=179081
* (92 HD channels after this update)

It does clearly say "with PowerBoost" so I'm not sure what the actual baseline speed is that they're claiming.

I had/have the "old" 16/2 tier, which might be the new 20/4 tier(w/Powerboost), and I checked the capped speed by DL'ing four 100 Mb files from dl.tv at the same time and after the initial Powerboost into the 20 something range it flattened out at around 16.6 or 16.4 for the bulk of the DL. So it doesn't look anything has changed as far as DL speed. Speedtests show that my upload speed has more than doubled, but I really don't know of any way to test it over a sustained period to see where it's capped.

4. Motorola DCT-34xx or DCH-34xx are the most common. You won't know what you get until the installer arrives.
5. None are planned, most of the Bay Area was upgraded in the last 2-3 years. There were rumors of going to SDV awhile ago, but who knows.
So #4 & #5: No new STB coming from ComCast any time soon? Is that what I understand (excluding TiVo)


6. They add new HD channels all the time, next month I believe they are adding quite a few (51 HD channels) but again only in select cities.
*Here's the article on new channels, Aug 11 in select cities:
I'm in Dublin so I don't know if this new roll-out for the south bay markets already happened in my market. Has it or is the Dublin market area not even on a list yet?

Oh I thought you meant more like infastructure improvements. They do have new STBs in the works all the time. 1 or 2 people here would be able to shed more light on that. Trouble is none of them ever seem to be any good (the STBs, not the people!)

As for Dublin, again have to ask someone in Dublin if there's one here. It's a complete crap-shoot as for what channels you get. Petaluma isn't getting new channels either..

I just got one :)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2656/3767779474_34527000da.jpg

I just got one :)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2656/3767779474_34527000da.jpg

Ohh...cool looking black box. What does it do differently/better?
What do you have to do to get on the "new STB list"?

i have the one in the picture also but i had to stand in line at the local office to swap out the previous model i already had.

improved features are pretty minor:
-larger hard drive
-different appearance
-support for codecs that probably won't be used for years yet
-automatic output resolution switching

the risk of a serious bug (no HDMI sync) is still present in some areas but should be resolved soon via firmware updates.

you would probably be equally happy with the far more common dch3416 unless you simply *must* have one of the features above.

i have the one in the picture also but i had to stand in line at the local office to swap out the previous model i already had.

improved features are pretty minor:
-larger hard drive
-different appearance
-support for codecs that probably won't be used for years yet
-automatic output resolution switching

the risk of a serious bug (no HDMI sync) is still present in some areas but should be resolved soon via firmware updates.

you would probably be equally happy with the far more common dch3416 unless you simply *must* have one of the features above.Well, honestly, coming from a D* 30hr box, "yes" I want the bigger hard drive. HDMI sync (I assume the issue is with audio) isn't an issue so long as there's optical out. My display has no audio; I output to a Pio Elite + M&K 7.1 set-up

Our HSI is Blast 16/9. Today we got a card from Comcast saying our speeds were doubled for free :rolleyes:... one can hope though. I'll test it soon.

i have the one in the picture also but i had to stand in line at the local office to swap out the previous model i already had.

improved features are pretty minor:
-larger hard drive
-different appearance
-support for codecs that probably won't be used for years yet
-automatic output resolution switching

the risk of a serious bug (no HDMI sync) is still present in some areas but should be resolved soon via firmware updates.

you would probably be equally happy with the far more common dch3416 unless you simply *must* have one of the features above.

ditto - there's no "new STB list"... I just went to the local office too.

Our HSI is Blast 16/9. Today we got a card from Comcast saying our speeds were doubled for free :rolleyes:... one can hope though. I'll test it soon.

16/9? What were you at before they doubled it?

FWIW, we can watch www.espn360.com with our Comcast internet service.

FWIW, we can watch www.espn360.com with our Comcast internet service.

I had forgotten about that coming, isn't it a pay service, but we get it for free with Comcast HSI?

I had forgotten about that coming, isn't it a pay service, but we get it for free with Comcast HSI?

Yes, it's free with Comcast HSI.

HDMI sync (I assume the issue is with audio) isn't an issue so long as there's optical out. My display has no audio; I output to a Pio Elite + M&K 7.1 set-up

HDMI issue is with video. New firmware cure should start rolling next week on a gradual basis. It's 22.35 I think.

Faster processor, more RAM. soft touch buttons. Support for the latest features (whatever gets approved ;) )

HDMI issue is with video. New firmware cure should start rolling next week on a gradual basis. It's 22.35 I think.

Faster processor, more RAM. soft touch buttons. Support for the latest features (whatever gets approved ;) )

Does it suffer from the interminable delay in responding to button presses that afflicts the Motorola DVRs?

ABG

Does it suffer from the interminable delay in responding to button presses that afflicts the Motorola DVRs?

ABG

No, appears quicker matter of fact.

I thought the 'remote buffer' thing was fixed, I have not experienced it in a long time.

16/9? What were you at before they doubled it?

We've had Comcast HSI for about a 6 weeks now; before that we had AT&T 1.5mb DSL. I just tested HSI with the Vudu speed tester. I get 21.1 down, 9.5 up. 16 is what's listed on the bill. I did 2 speed tests when we first got HSI and that's what the results were.

FWIW, we can watch www.espn360.com with our Comcast internet service.

Wow Wow, Beautiful! All these soccer games available now, I'm EXTREMELY happy :) Just hoping my signal problems get fixed now :>

We've had Comcast HSI for about a 6 weeks now; before that we had AT&T 1.5mb DSL. I just tested HSI with the Vudu speed tester. I get 21.1 down, 9.5 up. 16 is what's listed on the bill. I did 2 speed tests when we first got HSI and that's what the results were.

About what I get except I've never seen anything above 5mb/s(Powerboost) for upload.

My bill says I am paying for "Performance (12m)". When I downloaded the MS Office Service Pack 2 last night, it started at about 18M, then dropped to a very steady 6M. I think the quoted speed of 12M is for speed burst, and that the sustained speed is usually 1/2. At least that is what I have seen.

Greg

Got my upgrade letter offering dv adapters yesterday. Aug 28 here.

Question; so let me get this right, after the change comcast will allow only 2-34 to be in the clear for digital ready sets with built in tuners? why require boxes for 35-82? do they like doling out equipment that much or is it so they can separate the levels of service? seems like alot of work for that.

Mike

My bill says I am paying for "Performance (12m)". When I downloaded the MS Office Service Pack 2 last night, it started at about 18M, then dropped to a very steady 6M. I think the quoted speed of 12M is for speed burst, and that the sustained speed is usually 1/2. At least that is what I have seen.

Greg

Performance is 6/1 unless your area has been upgraded, then it's... I don't know what. Speed boost will pump that up to 15/3 or so, though lately the upload has been acting very wonky, I get up to 9mbps and then the meter sticks at 100% for a few seconds... very strange. Happens with all of the speed testers I've tried.

HDMI issue is with video. New firmware cure should start rolling next week on a gradual basis. It's 22.35 I think.

Faster processor, more RAM. soft touch buttons. Support for the latest features (whatever gets approved ;) )I guess I should ask...either box I get, I'm assuming they all (HD boxes) have HDMI and optical audio out that I can use simultaneously? Right?

I guess I should ask...either box I get, I'm assuming they all (HD boxes) have HDMI and optical audio out that I can use simultaneously? Right?

So are these available pretty much in any area now?

Got my upgrade letter offering dv adapters yesterday. Aug 28 here.

Question; so let me get this right, after the change comcast will allow only 2-34 to be in the clear for digital ready sets with built in tuners? why require boxes for 35-82? do they like doling out equipment that much or is it so they can separate the levels of service? seems like alot of work for that.

MikeThe channels below about 34 are mostly OTA rebroadcast or city public service, etc. Those are the "Limited Basic" channels. Those will remain analog for quite some time. I don't recall if it's a FCC thing or not, but the rationale is that if you have anything higher than limited basic, you need some sort of box or digital QAM tuner. The good thing is that they seem to be starting to put PSIP in the stream so that clear QAM tuners can identify these digital channels now.

By moving the Expanded Basic channels to digital, they're recovering a lot of bandwidth that can be used for High Definition, Cable Internet, etc. Expanding the service with this recovered bandwidth makes it worth the hassle of distributing these new limited function "DTA" boxes.

- Mike

I guess I should ask...either box I get, I'm assuming they all (HD boxes) have HDMI and optical audio out that I can use simultaneously? Right?

That's correct. Though, if HDMI is your only option for video, I would stay away from the DCX until they completely resolve the HDMI issue.

My setup is similar to yours, and it worked fine on both the DCH and DCX models. I also have component video plugged in as a back up. That runs simultaneously too.

That's correct. Though, if HDMI is your only option for video, I would stay away from the DCX until they completely resolve the HDMI issue.

My setup is similar to yours, and it worked fine on both the DCH and DCX models. I also have component video plugged in as a back up. That runs simultaneously too.
Unfortunately, my component inputs are taken-up with my game consoles. I have three available HDMI's so that's what I'd like to use. I'd also like to get that newer STB that some have received from the Comcast local offices. I'm hoping that there's no issues with that particular STB.

I think I wasnt clear on my ques. I do understand why they are removing analog channels, to free up bandwidth and only 2-34 would be available through simple analog. However the way I read the letter it seems you would need the DTA to access 33-82 even if you do have a digital ready set and tuner. or am I reading it wrong?


The channels below about 34 are mostly OTA rebroadcast or city public service, etc. Those are the "Limited Basic" channels. Those will remain analog for quite some time. I don't recall if it's a FCC thing or not, but the rationale is that if you have anything higher than limited basic, you need some sort of box or digital QAM tuner. The good thing is that they seem to be starting to put PSIP in the stream so that clear QAM tuners can identify these digital channels now.

By moving the Expanded Basic channels to digital, they're recovering a lot of bandwidth that can be used for High Definition, Cable Internet, etc. Expanding the service with this recovered bandwidth makes it worth the hassle of distributing these new limited function "DTA" boxes.

- Mike

You need a DTA or a CableCard-equipped device to get the correct channel numbers. If you only have a clear-QAM tuner it will work but you have to deal with odd channel numbers like ESPN = 98.11 etc..

has anyone experienced the 50/10mbps comcast hsi yet?
if its really that fast it almost seems worth it. For the business side
its twice the price but more then twice the speed.
thanks

has anyone experienced the 50/10mbps comcast hsi yet?
if its really that fast it almost seems worth it. For the business side
its twice the price but more then twice the speed.
thanks

I believe the business account is un-capped as well.

verily yes, I have the 20/5 business now and have been at a minimum 300+G/month
for ages. last month was 600G.

How do I get the ESPN 360 access setup? Or has it not started quite yet for us HSI subscribers?

*edit* I created an account and it's just working, so I guess that's it?

How do I get the ESPN 360 access setup? Or has it not started quite yet for us HSI subscribers?

*edit* I created an account and it's just working, so I guess that's it?

FYI - "As of February, 2009, however, if you tie your "myESPN" account to your affiliated ISP access, you can access ESPN360.com from a computer that is NOT on your ISP's network. This effectively make ESPN360.com access available to myESPN viewers outside their ISP's network."

Until recently, I thought I understood what Comcast was broadcasting in the PSIP headers.

- Comcast Channel
- Actual Channel
- Virtual Channel

The DTA's INFO/Virtual Channel Map provides the listing of all channels in expanded cable, and have used the frequency table to convert directly to the QAM channel. Actual=Virtual has been the norm, and when Actual was not equal to Virtual, the DTA listing always matched Virtual.

The reason for this lengthy message is that something weird is happening this week.

We don't use DTA/STBs on our ATSC-capable and the fact that one ATSC tuner locks to the Actual QAM channel and another locks to the Virtual QAM Channel has never been an issue until now.

Comcast changed the PBS lineups this week, and the Virtual tuner no longer works correctly for the PBS channels.

The ATSC Actual Tuner increments the channel as would be expected below, and all of them are directly tunable.

7.3 KGO Weather
9 KQED (analog)
9.1 KQED HD
9.3 KQED World
9.4 KQED V-Me
9.5 KQED Kids
9.6 KQED Life
11.1 KNTV HD

With the Virtual Tuner, incrementing through the channels is bizarre, and two of them are not directly tunable (entering 9.1 or 9.6 tunes 9.3).

7.3
9
9.3
9.4
9.5
11. Flashes for a second
9.1
9.6
11.1

Decrementing is similar.

11.1
9.6
9.1
7. Flashes for a second
9.5
9.4
9.3
9
7.3

The DTA assignments for the following PBS channels are no longer functional as QAM addresses when they are entered on the Virtual Tuner.

17 KCSM 627000/4 91.4 tunes to 9.4
189 KQED Life 753000/13 117.13 tunes to 7.1
190 KQED World 627000/8 91.8 tunes to 9.3
191 KQED V-Me 627000/9 91.9 tunes to 9.3
192 KQED Kids 627000/10 91.10 tunes to 9.3

Ch 117 is vectoring to 7 and 119 is vectoring to 9. If a valid sub-channel at the destination is used that station will be tuned i.e. 117.2 --> 7.2 and 119.5 --> 9.5.

Given that Comcast technicians don't seem to have heard of QAM and are not even aware that Comcast broadcasts QAM, I am not hopeful that the situation will improve soon. Presumably the programmers at the head end have a knowledge of QAM but I have no idea how they can be reached.

This may not be affecting anyone outside of Comcast Saratoga, but if it has happened here, it could happen elsewhere too.

The PSIPs are clearly bolluxed, I just can't figure out how.

Does anyone here have a clue as to what might be happening?

I have been lurking here for quite some time. Today I tried to upgrade my HSI to the Ultra package. The result is summarized in the following letter I emailed to the We Care people from Comcast (Frank of twitter fame)
---
Hi, I am a Comcast customer and after hearing that docsis 3.0 was available in my area I did a live chat session on the comcast website to verify that I could get it at my location and to ask whether a modem change was needed.

The first rep I spoke to said that indeed the service was available at my location, and that my modem would be able to handle speeds up to and including the Ultra package, but if I wanted the Extreme package, I would have to swap out modems. I asked her to check this information since I had heard that for anything above Blast speeds, you need docsis 3.0 modems. She checked with someone and re-confirmed that my existing modem could handle the higher speeds. So I agreed to change packages.

She then handed me off to another rep. He asked how he could help me (??) I asked whether he had not been informed of what I needed by the previous rep (a logical assumption on my part, I think). After clarifying that I wanted to upgrade to the Ultra package the new rep told me that my modem was not able to handle the higher speeds and that I would need a docsys 3.0 modem. I pointed out that the previous rep, not 5 minutes earlied had given me an opposite reply. The new rep reconfirmed that I needed docsis.3.0. I then asked him whether I could pick up such a modem myself at a local comcast store. He confirmed this with someone, and came back to tell me that indeed, I could pick one up at any of my local comcast stores. I asked whether he was sure they would be in stock since I imagine there is a high demand for them. "Oh no, they all have them in stock" he replied.

I took time off of work to go to my local comast store. There was a line out the door so I decided to go to work and come back later. I went back to the store later and again there was a line out the door. After waiting for 45 minutes my turn came up and the clerk cheerfully informed me that docsys 3.0 modems were NOT available at any comcast store, they only had them in the warehouse, and I would need a tech to come out and install it for me.

I showed the clerk the chat transcript and he said that obviously the person I had been speaking to was in a foreign country and knew nothing. I pointed out that it was a Comcast employee and it should not matter where he was located. Knowing whether modems are a tech install or available over the counter is not rocket science and it's either one or the other. The clerk was apologetic, but firm that I could only get the modem via a technician install.

Of course no installation is available for over a week at this juncture.

All in all, I have wasted 2 hours of my time going to the comcast stores and have been misinformed by two seperate comcast account reps.
---
I thought some of you that have been through this kind of thing would get a kick out of my tale, which is an oft repeated one.

Stephan

This morning, the news ticker on the bottom had an interesting ad on it.

"The KTVU news morning ticker is sponsored by Comcast. Over 100 HD channels coming soon."

Made me pretty excited...I've really been wanting more HD!!

Just got my "Great News! More HD" Flyer today. Date says September 12. I am in Redwood Shores. Hopefully they stick to the date!
Huzzah! I've only had those extra channels on the TiVo EPG for about nine months.

......Made me pretty excited...I've really been wanting more HD!!

Be careful what you wish for ;)
3-packing degraded quantity versus quality HD PQ!

Be careful what you wish for ;)
3-packing degraded quantity versus quality HD PQ!

For me the worse degraded signal is no signal at all. Bring it on!

I have been lurking here for quite some time. Today I tried to upgrade my HSI to the Ultra package. The result is summarized in the following letter I emailed to the We Care people from Comcast (Frank of twitter fame)
---
Hi, I am a Comcast customer and after hearing that docsis 3.0 was available in my area I did a live chat session on the comcast website to verify that I could get it at my location and to ask whether a modem change was needed.

The first rep I spoke to said that indeed the service was available at my location, and that my modem would be able to handle speeds up to and including the Ultra package, but if I wanted the Extreme package, I would have to swap out modems. I asked her to check this information since I had heard that for anything above Blast speeds, you need docsis 3.0 modems. She checked with someone and re-confirmed that my existing modem could handle the higher speeds. So I agreed to change packages.

She then handed me off to another rep. He asked how he could help me (??) I asked whether he had not been informed of what I needed by the previous rep (a logical assumption on my part, I think). After clarifying that I wanted to upgrade to the Ultra package the new rep told me that my modem was not able to handle the higher speeds and that I would need a docsys 3.0 modem. I pointed out that the previous rep, not 5 minutes earlied had given me an opposite reply. The new rep reconfirmed that I needed docsis.3.0. I then asked him whether I could pick up such a modem myself at a local comcast store. He confirmed this with someone, and came back to tell me that indeed, I could pick one up at any of my local comcast stores. I asked whether he was sure they would be in stock since I imagine there is a high demand for them. "Oh no, they all have them in stock" he replied.

I took time off of work to go to my local comast store. There was a line out the door so I decided to go to work and come back later. I went back to the store later and again there was a line out the door. After waiting for 45 minutes my turn came up and the clerk cheerfully informed me that docsys 3.0 modems were NOT available at any comcast store, they only had them in the warehouse, and I would need a tech to come out and install it for me.

I showed the clerk the chat transcript and he said that obviously the person I had been speaking to was in a foreign country and knew nothing. I pointed out that it was a Comcast employee and it should not matter where he was located. Knowing whether modems are a tech install or available over the counter is not rocket science and it's either one or the other. The clerk was apologetic, but firm that I could only get the modem via a technician install.

Of course no installation is available for over a week at this juncture.

All in all, I have wasted 2 hours of my time going to the comcast stores and have been misinformed by two seperate comcast account reps.
---
I thought some of you that have been through this kind of thing would get a kick out of my tale, which is an oft repeated one.

Stephan

Stephan,

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger, the very same thing, almost word for word, happened to me yesterday but mine was much worse. There was an accounting error in my account that wouldn't allow them to authorize the Tm720G EMTA modem that I was having installed. The tech, Roland, spent over 3 1/2 hours trying to get the modem to authorize. He replaced cable runs, redid connections, replaced every splitter I have, ran signal tests throughout my system and still it would not authorize. It was not until we finally found out about the error in my account did we finally get the modem authorized. I know a lot of people think that the techs are clueless or worse but let me tell you Comcast needs more techs like Roland to do their installs he went way above what I would've expected from a tech. But Comcast needs to get the communication between their departments fixed. I was that close to dropping Comcast's internet and digital voice if it weren't for Roland and all the work he did to get this fixed. I wish you could request a tech by name to do your work, I'd have him do all my cable work :p

Hopefully, when you have your install you get a competent tech like I did. Let me know if you have any problems, I'd be interested on how the tech does with your install.

Laters,
Mikef5

All in all, I have wasted 2 hours of my time going to the comcast stores and have been misinformed by two seperate comcast account reps.

Stephan
I just got back from helping my mom in Comcastic country convert to digital cable, and had a similar negative experience with their CSRs (er, acct executives hah). I scheduled a visit to have a field tech inspect and repair our 30 year old installation (DTAs weren't getting all channels).
- Day of the scheduled visit the dispatcher called just after start of 2 hour window, said tech will be delayed. One hour after close of window, no tech, I called CSR and asked for reschedule (next day, no problem). Tech showed up anyway at 8pm after I'd left (per note on front door).
- Next day, tech never showed up during window. I called CSR who escalated to dispatch. After 20 min on hold was told that reschedule NEVER happened. Rescheduled for next day (Sat, longer 4 hr window).
- Tech showed up, replaced several splitters, left cable for replacing two other runs at my convenience (my request). Now all is well.
My conclusions:
- Internal communications in Comcast leaves everything to be desired
- Field techs seem competent and helpful
- DTAs are especially picky about signal strength (we have long cable runs)

I was looking again at the digital conversion letter that Comcast sent to the Vallejo-Benicia service area last month. The letter says to contact CC by 9/1 so that your equipment arrives on time. I could only interpret that as meaning that a specific date for conversion and the additional HD channels was not public. There was, however, a pamphlet included which says very clearly:
"Your guide to Comcast's network enhancement on September 1, 2009." Does that mean that analogue capture will be done on 9/1 with the new channel lineup to follow shortly? Mike, do you have an educated guess?

The letter says to contact CC by 9/1 so that your equipment arrives on time.
I think that phrase is the key. Without seeing the entire text, it sounds like the letter my mom got. IIRC you will be 'encouraged' to convert/upgrade to digital basic for free or the small diff between expanded basic. You should get one standard def set top box and two DTAs included - no extra charge unless you want to have a tech install them.

In response to other posters re incomprehensible web site 'info' - after I visited the office and got the TWO PAMPHLETS for Channel Lineup and Services, everything made sense! They are FAR clearer and more complete compared to that clunky, user hostile, dog slow, sorry excuse for a web site :mad:. The field tech had these pamphlets also.

Other lessons learned:
- You can get high quality, short (6', 12'?) cables from the local office with a reasonable explanation like 'the ones included with the DTAs are too short' (3ft, really!!).
- All interior cabling should be RG-6 to the STBs, DTAs and/or your directly connected digital QAM tuner equipped HDTV. After cabling and splitter upgrades, dropouts were rare.
- Get the 0.99 per month (at least in her area) protection program first to avoid visit charges.

Other observations:
The PQ is Disappointing even on clear QAM HD locals - all channels look soft and obviously bitrobbed compared to OTA or even TWC here.
I'm not at all happy that Comcast crippled the DTA outputs (RF ONLY!). Besides degrading the PQ, it eliminates its possible use as a inexpensive input source for your music system (or in my case, house FM transmitter). Duh, subtract one good selling point.
I hope that providing standard def STBs is a short term thing - high(er) def will eventually be ubiquitous.

I was looking again at the digital conversion letter that Comcast sent to the Vallejo-Benicia service area last month. The letter says to contact CC by 9/1 so that your equipment arrives on time. I could only interpret that as meaning that a specific date for conversion and the additional HD channels was not public. There was, however, a pamphlet included which says very clearly:
"Your guide to Comcast's network enhancement on September 1, 2009." Does that mean that analogue capture will be done on 9/1 with the new channel lineup to follow shortly? Mike, do you have an educated guess?
Cal,

I would surmise by what your letter said, that on or about 9/1 they will probably start to do the conversion in your area, since that's why you need to have the DTA's out to the customer by that time. Comcast never gives out specific dates on anything or to anyone, myself included. Well sometimes I can twist his arm a little bit and get a hint or two about my area but even then I'm bound by my agreement with him about when I can post :p , but that would be a pretty good guess by what your letter is telling you ;).

I think as time goes on and they do more areas that the time frame will get shorter since they are now use to doing it and can avoid holdups that have happened before. The more you do something the better you get at doing it and the faster you can go but they do want to do it right the first time so you don't have to go back and fix stuff because you went to fast. Sort of a catch 22 situation.

Laters,
Mikef5

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger, the very same thing, almost word for word, happened to me yesterday but mine was much worse

Thanks Mike, and I'm sorry for your pain. your experience sounds far worse than mine.

In defense of Comcast, I must point out that when I had a problem on a previous occasion, and contacted Frank on twitter, he responded very quickly. And my email yesterday to the We Care department, elicited a response from them the next day (today). Apparently the order to have a tech come out was also input incorrectly and so they are going to re-input the order from scratch and possibly get me an install sooner than a week from now.

They obviously have competent and caring people there, you just need to be able to make a connection with them. I confess I also referenced these forums and pointed out that there are pages and pages of negative experiences chroncled here.

Dive Fan My conclusions:
- Internal communications in Comcast leaves everything to be desired
- Field techs seem competent and helpful
- DTAs are especially picky about signal strength (we have long cable runs)

I have two DTA's. Ive had to return both of them - some channels, not all, would be without sound. Some would be much fainter than others. Replacing the DTA fixed that. Im not sure of my cable run lengths but I dont think they are overly long.

When I returned the DTA they didnt ask me what was wrong with them at all or why I was swapping them out. Not sure what that means !

All of the techs I've had were very good, and gave me their cell numbers and the hours they work to call them directly if there are any problems.

Thanks Mike, and I'm sorry for your pain. your experience sounds far worse than mine.

In defense of Comcast, I must point out that when I had a problem on a previous occasion, and contacted Frank on twitter, he responded very quickly. And my email yesterday to the We Care department, elicited a response from them the next day (today). Apparently the order to have a tech come out was also input incorrectly and so they are going to re-input the order from scratch and possibly get me an install sooner than a week from now.

They obviously have competent and caring people there, you just need to be able to make a connection with them. I confess I also referenced these forums and pointed out that there are pages and pages of negative experiences chroncled here.

Stephan,

I've worked with Comcast for almost 6 years now ( I'm not an employee, just a concerned customer like you guys ). I do the official Comcast posts for this forum so I am a big supporter of cable ;) .

What I was particularly concerned about is this disconnect between the different departments of Comcast and it's negative effect that it has with the customers. It gives the perception that Comcast doesn't care or isn't concerned about what is going on in their own departments let alone how it affects their customers. That is not the case they really do care but there is a communication problem within Comcast itself.

I received a phone call yesterday from one of the V.P.'s ( not Mr. J. ) for this area and we talked about this to a great extent. He assured me that Comcast is aware of the problem and is working to get it corrected. I thought it was a very productive phone call. Do I believe him ?? Sure, because he made the mistake of giving me his phone number and asked me to call if things don't change and I have no qualms about using that phone number, just ask Mr. J. :eek:.

I truly believe that the customer should not feel frustrated with a company just because that company can't effectively communicate within their own departments or with the customer themselves. I think Comcast will get this corrected eventually, preferably sooner rather than later.

One thing that could help is when you, the customer, have a problem let Comcast know about it. I know that can be a pain in the butt but you can't fix something if you don't know that it's broke. Conversely, when you have a good experience let Comcast know that also. Believe it or not, it really does help to know when you are doing something right just as when you do something wrong. I know that most of the posts in this forum are on the negative aspects of Comcast. People need a place to vent their frustrations and this is where they do it and they should do that but it's just as important that the positive aspects of a company should be shown also. It's not all bad, it just needs help to become better.

Ok, time for me to step down from the soapbox. I hope things do change and I will be watching ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

Yep, to many people where counting channel numbers and bitching about it and it seems that picture quality lost out. People should really think about what they want.... they just might get it... at a cost !!! Do you want more HD channels, at the cost of picture quality or do you want better picture quality, at the cost of the number of channels available ? You're not going to get both at least for now. Right now picture quality, at least in my area, is fine but when all those new HD channels come in August I'll be watching closely. ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

Note they still haven't turned off the 30-90 analog stations yet, but they are now broadcasting 40 digital equivalents. Hopefully once they really turn off the analog, the digital channels will look better.

Stephan,

I've worked with Comcast for almost 6 years now ( I'm not an employee, just a concerned customer like you guys ). I do the official Comcast posts for this forum so I am a big supporter of cable ;) .

What I was particularly concerned about is this disconnect between the different departments of Comcast and it's negative effect that it has with the customers. It gives the perception that Comcast doesn't care or isn't concerned about what is going on in their own departments let alone how it affects their customers. That is not the case they really do care but there is a communication problem within Comcast itself.

I received a phone call yesterday from one of the V.P.'s ( not Mr. J. ) for this area and we talked about this to a great extent. He assured me that Comcast is aware of the problem and is working to get it corrected. I thought it was a very productive phone call. Do I believe him ?? Sure, because he made the mistake of giving me his phone number and asked me to call if things don't change and I have no qualms about using that phone number, just ask Mr. J. :eek:.

I truly believe that the customer should not feel frustrated with a company just because that company can't effectively communicate within their own departments or with the customer themselves. I think Comcast will get this corrected eventually, preferably sooner rather than later.

One thing that could help is when you, the customer, have a problem let Comcast know about it. I know that can be a pain in the butt but you can't fix something if you don't know that it's broke. Conversely, when you have a good experience let Comcast know that also. Believe it or not, it really does help to know when you are doing something right just as when you do something wrong. I know that most of the posts in this forum are on the negative aspects of Comcast. People need a place to vent their frustrations and this is where they do it and they should do that but it's just as important that the positive aspects of a company should be shown also. It's not all bad, it just needs help to become better.

Ok, time for me to step down from the soapbox. I hope things do change and I will be watching ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

Wasn't Comcast VP Rick Germano tasked with this very job almost 2 years...??? Is he even in the district anymore?

Here are the new HD Lineup in my area on Tuesday August 11th:

702 KTVU HD (Fox)
703 KNTV HD (NBC)
704 KRON HD (MNT)
705 KPIX HD (CBS)
706 KICU HD (Ind.)
707 KGO HD (ABC)
709 KQED HD (PBS)
711 KKPX HD (ION)
712 KBCW HD (CW)
715 KGO HD2 (LiveWell HD)
717 WGN America HD
719 QVC HD
720 Comcast SportsNet Bay Area HD
721 Comcast SportsNet California HD
722 Golf Channel HD
723 Versus HD
724 ESPN HD
725 ESPN2 HD
726 ESPNEWS HD
727 NBA TV HD
728 NHL Network HD
729 MLB Network HD
730 NFL Network HD
731 Speed HD
732 CBS College Sports HD
733 Bravo HD
734 A&E HD
735 TBS HD
736 SyFy HD
737 TNT HD
738 USA HD
739 Universal HD
740 TV One HD
741 FX HD
742 Style HD
743 Spike HD
744 G4 HD
745 Comedy Central HD
746 HGTV HD
747 Food Network HD
750 Discovery Channel HD
751 Animal Planet HD
752 TLC HD
753 E! HD
754 HD Theater
755 Travel Channel HD
756 Science Channel HD
757 National Geographic Channel HD
758 History Channel HD
759 CNN HD
760 Fox News Channel HD
761 Fox Business HD
762 CNBC HD+
763 Disney XD HD
766 Cartoon Network HD
767 Nickelodeon HD
768 ABC Family HD
769 Disney Channel HD
771 Planet Green HD
772 Biography Channel HD
776 The Weather Channel HD
777 BET HD
778 CMT HD
779 Fuse HD
781 VH1 HD
782 MTV HD
783 Palladia HD
784 Outdoor Channel HD
787 MSNBC HD
790 IFC HD
791 WE HD
794 Halmark Movie Channel HD
795 Lifetime HD
796 Lifetime Movie Network HD
797 MGM HD
798 AMC HD
801 HBO HD
802 HBO Signature HD
803 HBO2 HD
805 HBO Comedy HD
807 HBO Zone HD
808 HBO Latino HD
809 Encore HD
816 Starz HD
817 Starz! Edge HD
818 Starz! Comedy HD
819 Starz! Kids & Family HD
825 Showtime HD
826 Showtime Too HD
838 Cinemax HD
840 ActionMax HD
841 ThrillerMax HD
847 The Movie Channel HD
871 PPV HD

Channels listed in Bold are new HD channels.

Here are the new HD Lineup in my Package on Tuesday August 11th:

702 KTVU HD (Fox)
703 KNTV HD (NBC)
704 KRON HD (MNT)
705 KPIX HD (CBS)
706 KICU HD (Ind.)
707 KGO HD (ABC)
709 KQED HD (PBS)
711 KKPX HD (ION)
712 KBCW HD (CW)
715 KGO HD2 (LiveWell HD)
717 WGN America HD
719 QVC HD
720 Comcast SportsNet Bay Area HD
721 Comcast SportsNet California HD
722 Golf Channel HD
723 Versus HD
724 ESPN HD
725 ESPN2 HD
726 ESPNEWS HD
727 NBA TV HD
728 NHL Network HD
729 MLB Network HD
730 NFL Network HD
731 Speed HD
732 CBS College Sports HD
733 Bravo HD
734 A&E HD
735 TBS HD
736 SyFy HD
737 TNT HD
738 USA HD
739 Universal HD
740 TV One HD
741 FX HD
742 Style HD
743 Spike HD
744 G4 HD
745 Comedy Central HD
746 HGTV HD
747 Food Network HD
750 Discovery Channel HD
751 Animal Planet HD
752 TLC HD
753 E! HD
754 HD Theater
755 Travel Channel HD
756 Science Channel HD
757 National Geographic Channel HD
758 History Channel HD
759 CNN HD
760 Fox News Channel HD
761 Fox Business HD
762 CNBC HD+
763 Disney XD HD
766 Cartoon Network HD
767 Nickelodeon HD
768 ABC Family HD
769 Disney Channel HD
771 Planet Green HD
772 Biography Channel HD
776 The Weather Channel HD
777 BET HD
778 CMT HD
779 Fuse HD
781 VH1 HD
782 MTV HD
783 Palladia HD
784 Outdoor Channel HD
787 MSNBC HD
790 IFC HD
791 WE HD
794 Halmark Movie Channel HD
795 Lifetime HD
796 Lifetime Movie Network HD
797 MGM HD
798 AMC HD
801 HBO HD
805 HBO Comedy HD
807 HBO Zone HD
808 HBO Latino HD
809 Encore HD
816 Starz HD
817 Starz! Edge HD
818 Starz! Comedy HD
819 Starz! Kids & Family HD
825 Showtime HD
826 Showtime Too HD
838 Cinemax HD
840 ActionMax HD
841 ThrillerMax HD
847 The Movie Channel HD
871 PPV HD

Channels listed in Bold means that are not included in my package.

Wasn't Comcast VP Rick Germano tasked with this very job almost 2 years...??? Is he even in the district anymore?
Jim,

You said a bad word, Germano, he still is not on my Christmas list. I believe he has moved to the upper corporate levels. I think we are better off with Mr. J. and Mr. M. ;)

To be honest, I think this really needs to be addressed at the local levels as well as the national levels but it needs to start locally first. Just my $1.02 ( that's 2 cents adjusted for inflation, the market tanking and various local taxes :p ) . Man the Giant's game better hurry up, I've got way to much time on my hands.

Laters,
Mikef5

Here are the new HD Lineup in my Package on Tuesday August 11th:


801 HBO HD
802 HBO Signature HD
803 HBO2 HD
805 HBO Comedy HD
807 HBO Zone HD
808 HBO Latino HD

Channels listed in Bold means that are not included in my package.

Can you explain what you mean by not included? I'm assuming you don't have HBO, but I wasn't aware that all of those HBO channels were available or being added, specifically 802 HBO Signature HD and 803 HBO2 HD. I would love to see both of them added, but I'm pretty sure they aren't on the list to be added.

Jim,

You said a bad word, Germano, he still is not on my Christmas list. I believe he has moved to the upper corporate levels. I think we are better off with Mr. J. and Mr. M. ;)

To be honest, I think this really needs to be addressed at the local levels as well as the national levels but it needs to start locally first. Just my $1.02 ( that's 2 cents adjusted for inflation, the market tanking and various local taxes :p ) . Man the Giant's game better hurry up, I've got way to much time on my hands.

Laters,
Mikef5

Well, that's the thing, wasn't he supposed to be addressing this at the local level, but since he's left it's business as usual?

Who's Mr. M?

On the new lineup they didn't leave a sport for ESPNU, I wonder if that means it isn't being added in HD? Figured they'd add it in HD since so many SEC football games will be there this fall. Glad to see they finally added MLB, NBA, and ESPNews in HD.

Note they still haven't turned off the 30-90 analog stations yet, but they are now broadcasting 40 digital equivalents. Hopefully once they really turn off the analog, the digital channels will look better.

The digital stations (2-75 or so) look a lot better via DTA on our table top Sony 20" than they did when recvd via direct cable connection (analog).
Of couse never got higher number channels before having the DTA box on that set.
Our plasma is watched via 6412 DVR.


...mike

Mike5 - You may have noted that I took the time to come back and post about the fact that my email to the We Care people of twitter fame DID reply to me, and are doing something. I think that particular group is very effecitve and genuinely concerned.

And I understand that a large corporation is hard to steer in a unified direction. Hell it's hard enough in my small company of 11 people.

But when you have ONE Live chat with TWO reps and they BOTH get something fundamental and really not very complicated wrong, you do have to wonder.

Another thing I didnt mention in my original post, and perhaps this is a personal peeve of mine. At the Comcast location, there were 7 or 8 counters. A few of them were manned, fewer than one would think considering the number of people in line. But two posts were manned by comcast staff that was doing who knows what. Not customer service to be sure. They were chatting between themselves while there was a line out the door and people obviously losing patience with the glacial pace.

Now those people may have been done for the day or on break or doing something administrative. If so, they should be doing that AWAY from the counter. Nothing is more irksome than being in a long line and seeing the staff chatting away as if there was no urgency to things.

I have no experience in changing corporate culture, but there is something not right with a company the size of comcast registering the kind of complaints we see here on the AVS forums day in and day out as regards to their customer service people.

Regards, Stephan

...

What I was particularly concerned about is this disconnect between the different departments of Comcast and it's negative effect that it has with the customers. It gives the perception that Comcast doesn't care or isn't concerned about what is going on in their own departments let alone how it affects their customers. That is not the case they really do care but there is a communication problem within Comcast itself.

...

One thing that could help is when you, the customer, have a problem let Comcast know about it. I know that can be a pain in the butt but you can't fix something if you don't know that it's broke.

...
Laters,
Mikef5

What is a good snail mail address to use to contact Comcast regarding billing issue?

I have been trying to resolve 2-month overcharge on my cancelled account since Jan. I have tried visiting a local office, calling customer service, online chat several times, they told me exactly how much I should be getting a refund, but they can't seem to actually send me the check. The last time I talked to a customer service person, she basically told me that there was nothing more she can do.

I am really annoyed that I have been getting collection letters & phone calls from Comcast. So I want to try sending a physical letter to Comcast with a copy of the online chat transcript, CR number & collection notice letter. So I want to send the letter to a Comcast office where there are people reading customers' mail.


BTW, I am quite happy with Comcast service, especially HSI. I have been a cable HSI user since @home days. On-Demand on my STB doesn't work, but I am probably not missing much.

What is a good snail mail address to use to contact Comcast regarding billing issue?

I have been trying to resolve 2-month overcharge on my cancelled account since Jan. I have tried visiting a local office, calling customer service, online chat several times, they told me exactly how much I should be getting a refund, but they can't seem to actually send me the check. The last time I talked to a customer service person, she basically told me that there was nothing more she can do.

I am really annoyed that I have been getting collection letters & phone calls from Comcast. So I want to try sending a physical letter to Comcast with a copy of the online chat transcript, CR number & collection notice letter. So I want to send the letter to a Comcast office where there are people reading customers' mail.


BTW, I am quite happy with Comcast service, especially HSI. I have been a cable HSI user since @home days. On-Demand on my STB doesn't work, but I am probably not missing much.

Yukit,

As much as I'm not a fan of Mr. Germano he is the head of Costumer Care for Comcast. I would urge you to get a hold of him and see if he can assist you with your problem. Here is an email address where you can contact him, it's an email site on the Comcast Voice site but he does post there, he has 2 posts there that might be of some help to you, it gives other ways to get help ..... http://www.comcastvoices.com/author/rick-germano/
In your email to him, I would have all your data spelled out for him to look at, you might even give him your phone number and ask for him or his representative call you so you can talk to them directly.

Laters,
Mikef5

Can you explain what you mean by not included? I'm assuming you don't have HBO, but I wasn't aware that all of those HBO channels were available or being added, specifically 802 HBO Signature HD and 803 HBO2 HD. I would love to see both of them added, but I'm pretty sure they aren't on the list to be added.
Jim,

Yes, they are :)

I have the same listing on the channel listing that I got from Comcast so be happy :p;)

Laters,
Mikef5

Yukit,

As much as I'm not a fan of Mr. Germano he is the head of Costumer Care for Comcast. I would urge you to get a hold of him and see if he can assist you with your problem. Here is an email address where you can contact him, it's an email site on the Comcast Voice site but he does post there, he has 2 posts there that might be of some help to you, it gives other ways to get help ..... http://www.comcastvoices.com/author/rick-germano/
In your email to him, I would have all your data spelled out for him to look at, you might even give him your phone number and ask for him or his representative call you so you can talk to them directly.

Laters,
Mikef5

Thanks for the tip.

Though emailing or calling a VP of Costumer Care may mitigate my issue, that does not seem like a sensible solution for such a large organization like Comcast. I was hoping for a general method (like snail mail) to get to someone at Comcast who can actually resolve the porblem instead of passing the buck to another department.

The actual amount of refund is not a big deal, but I am a bit concerned that this may eventually appear as a delinquency on my credit report, though a CSR told me it would not.

I am off the soapbox, anyways.

Thanks for the tip.

Though emailing or calling a VP of Costumer Care may mitigate my issue, that does not seem like a sensible solution for such a large organization like Comcast. I was hoping for a general method (like snail mail) to get to someone at Comcast who can actually resolve the porblem instead of passing the buck to another department.

The actual amount of refund is not a big deal, but I am a bit concerned that this may eventually appear as a delinquency on my credit report, though a CSR told me it would not.

I am off the soapbox, anyways.
Yukit,

If Mr. Germano can't fix it then no one is going to. He's not a local V.P. he is at the corporate level and is the Senior Vice President of Customer Operations. It was his stated goal to insure customers were taken care of and had a way to get their problems corrected and if it was required, he would see to it himself. That's not passing the buck, that is giving you a way to get someone at the corporate level to be made aware of your problem and to get it solved.

Laters,
Mikef5

I can attest that emailing Germano does yield results. He will immediately forward your inquiry to the appropriate person and you can believe they will act on it.

I can attest that emailing Germano does yield results. He will immediately forward your inquiry to the appropriate person and you can believe they will act on it.

It's the Comcastic way, we have our extremely high paid executive in Philadelphia handle a local customer service issue rather than the people we've actually hired, and evidently haven't trained, to handle it. So the lesson learned here is, forget about local customer service and go right to the top instead. :D

Jim,

Yes, they are :)

I have the same listing on the channel listing that I got from Comcast so be happy :p;)

Laters,
Mikef5

Okay, so you're saying that the following channels are being added?

802 HBO Signature HD
803 HBO2 HD

I ask because they are not listed in that PR you posted back on July 9th.

From list:

# HBO Comedy HD 805
# HBO Zone HD 807
# HBO Latino HD 808

Okay, so you're saying that the following channels are being added?

802 HBO Signature HD
803 HBO2 HD

I ask because they are not listed in that PR you posted back on July 9th.

From list:

# HBO Comedy HD 805
# HBO Zone HD 807
# HBO Latino HD 808

Yes, Jim and I said that was a preliminary list subject to change. Even the one that I got in the mail is a preliminary list to which they might add more channels to but all those HBO channels are on the latest list so...... Be Happy :p

Now, I'm going back and watch the Giant's beat the Phillies :D

Laters,
Mikef5

It's the Comcastic way, we have our extremely high paid executive in Philadelphia handle a local customer service issue rather than the people we've actually hired, and evidently haven't trained, to handle it. So the lesson learned here is, forget about local customer service and go right to the top instead. :D

Jim,

The guy said he's gone the local route and got no where, the next step is to go to the next higher level. What I don't understand is he's talking about a rebate or over payment that is going to adversely affect his credit.. That I don't understand but that's between him and Comcast, I only gave him another route to take to get his problem looked at and corrected.

Ok, now I'm really going back to the game :D

Laters,
Mikef5

Yes, Jim and I said that was a preliminary list subject to change. Even the one that I got in the mail is a preliminary list to which they might add more channels to but all those HBO channels are on the latest list so...... Be Happy :p

Now, I'm going back and watch the Giant's beat the Phillies :D

Laters,
Mikef5

Cool, now I just need to find out if Santa Rosa will get those channels before late September.

It is a pretty good game for the Giants, something to watch until a real baseball team comes on at 5pm anyway. :D

Cool, now I just need to find out if Santa Rosa will get those channels before late September.

It is a pretty good game for the Giants, something to watch until a real baseball team comes on at 5pm anyway. :D

Ok, commercial time.

Jim, I didn't know you were a Braves fan !!! :eek::D

Commercial's over with, back to the Giant's game

Laters,
Mikef5

Ok, commercial time.

Jim, I didn't know you were a Braves fan !!! :eek::D

Commercial's over with, back to the Giant's game

Laters,
Mikef5

Funny! I knew when I posted that you'd come back with that.

Uh, no, that would be the best team in baseball that I'm a fan of, my hometown Los Angeles Dodgers. :D

Cal,

I think as time goes on and they do more areas that the time frame will get shorter since they are now use to doing it and can avoid holdups that have happened before. The more you do something the better you get at doing it and the faster you can go but they do want to do it right the first time so you don't have to go back and fix stuff because you went to fast. Sort of a catch 22 situation.

Laters,
Mikef5

This confuses me. Comcast has obviously successfully finished the conversion in some areas, but it's been over 3 months since the date on the letter sent out to Fremont customers (5/1), and there are still plenty of analog channels in the 35-84 range , and we still don't have last November's set of HD channels . From what I can remember back in the spring when the first areas were transitioned, it was only about a month from start to finish. It really doesn't seem like the time frame is getting shorter.

Any chance you can find out what's going on?

Uh, no, that would be the best team in baseball that I'm a fan of, my hometown Los Angeles Dodgers. :D

ack. even in the too-cool-for-sports bay area, you can't expect us to let *that* go by without a fight.

Here are the new HD Lineup in my Package on Tuesday August 11th:

801 HBO HD
802 HBO Signature HD
803 HBO2 HD
805 HBO Comedy HD
807 HBO Zone HD
808 HBO Latino HD
809 Encore HD
816 Starz HD
817 Starz! Edge HD
818 Starz! Comedy HD
819 Starz! Kids & Family HD
825 Showtime HD
826 Showtime Too HD
838 Cinemax HD
840 ActionMax HD
841 ThrillerMax HD
847 The Movie Channel HD


Does anyone know if HBO2 HD and Showtime Too HD are actually the East Coast feeds?

On the new lineup they didn't leave a sport for ESPNU, I wonder if that means it isn't being added in HD? Figured they'd add it in HD since so many SEC football games will be there this fall. Glad to see they finally added MLB, NBA, and ESPNews in HD.
Does anybody around here get ESPNU in SD?

I thought Comcast didn't include ESPNU as it is a direct competitor to CBS College Sports (formerly CSTV) channel.

-- Don

That's a pretty interesting HD channel list posted by nbc11newsclips. I guess I will now be able to stop fuming when I see those Comcast ads about "more HD" and "HD intervention." (At least when they actually roll this all out.) I haven't done the work to do a complete comparison, but there are clearly quite a few channels not presently available on D* (my current provider). Most notable, to me at least, are the variants of HBO (D* only gets the East and West coast feeds of HBO, so for anyone not too stupid to use a DVR, it's really just one HD channel); AMC-HD (with Mad Men about to return for a new season); and IFC-HD. I'm pretty sure that all those variants of Cinemax and Showtime are available on D*. I've never quite figured out why they allocated their bandwidth to the lesser competitors of HBO in terms of HD presentation, but that's the way it's set up on D*. Really limits the value of an HBO subscription. On the plus side for D*, they still have much better sports coverage (the RSNs in HD, the league packages, and Tennis Channel).

In any event, I'm curious to know if anyone knows whether--once the removal of expanded basic 35-82 from analog transmission is complete--there will be a differentiation in service between the 750 MHz areas and the 860 MHz areas. If Comcast is able to present this lineup in all its service areas, then they will have gone a long way to "leveling the playing field", to riff on that current D* commercial. The issue will really no longer be HD coverage (although there will be some personal choice issues for any given customer--what's more important, Tennis Channel or AMC-HD?). The focus will be on quality of service (reliability, PQ including three-packing vs. MPEG4 conversion, etc.), quality of equipment, and bundling of other services (where Comcast of course has a clear advantage).

I switched to D* in February, and the sports package issue and my complete loathing for Motorola DVRs would probably mean the choice would have been the same even if I had switched in the fall when Comcast's expanded HD offerings were available. But it would have been a much closer call. And I've now got a more complicated story to tell when local non-techies ask my opinion.

Does anybody around here get ESPNU in SD?

I thought Comcast didn't include ESPNU as it is a direct competitor to CBS College Sports (formerly CSTV) channel.

-- Don

Channel 420, at least in my area.

Laters,
Mikef5

Does anyone know if HBO2 HD and Showtime Too HD are actually the East Coast feeds?

Given that the SD versions are the west feeds I would guess that the HD versions will be as well. It would be nice to have the east versions as it solves some DVR conflicts, but these channels run their programs multiple times during the week so it's not a big deal. While they do have both east and west of the main channel in SD I can't see them wasting the space they have on extra versions of the HD given they're already 3-packing the HD channels as it is.

That's a pretty interesting HD channel list posted by nbc11newsclips. I guess I will now be able to stop fuming when I see those Comcast ads about "more HD" and "HD intervention." (At least when they actually roll this all out.) I haven't done the work to do a complete comparison, but there are clearly quite a few channels not presently available on D* (my current provider). Most notable, to me at least, are the variants of HBO (D* only gets the East and West coast feeds of HBO, so for anyone not too stupid to use a DVR, it's really just one HD channel); AMC-HD (with Mad Men about to return for a new season); and IFC-HD. I'm pretty sure that all those variants of Cinemax and Showtime are available on D*. I've never quite figured out why they allocated their bandwidth to the lesser competitors of HBO in terms of HD presentation, but that's the way it's set up on D*. Really limits the value of an HBO subscription. On the plus side for D*, they still have much better sports coverage (the RSNs in HD, the league packages, and Tennis Channel).

In any event, I'm curious to know if anyone knows whether--once the removal of expanded basic 35-82 from analog transmission is complete--there will be a differentiation in service between the 750 MHz areas and the 860 MHz areas. If Comcast is able to present this lineup in all its service areas, then they will have gone a long way to "leveling the playing field", to riff on that current D* commercial. The issue will really no longer be HD coverage (although there will be some personal choice issues for any given customer--what's more important, Tennis Channel or AMC-HD?). The focus will be on quality of service (reliability, PQ including three-packing vs. MPEG4 conversion, etc.), quality of equipment, and bundling of other services (where Comcast of course has a clear advantage).

I switched to D* in February, and the sports package issue and my complete loathing for Motorola DVRs would probably mean the choice would have been the same even if I had switched in the fall when Comcast's expanded HD offerings were available. But it would have been a much closer call. And I've now got a more complicated story to tell when local non-techies ask my opinion.

Keep in mind that on many channels, particularly the cablenet type channels, which are the channels that Comcast is adding so many of, the PQ quality via DirecTV is a bit better. With just Syfy and HBO the quality is clearly better on DirecTV for example. Comcast is simply not giving the channels enough bandwidth, as long as there's no fast motion the Comcast version is fine, but it falls down when there is.

I really wish Comcast had stayed with their "hands off" policy regarding PQ, but for them to be competitive they simply couldn't. Now, once these channels have switched to MPEG4 transmission(HBO is already MPEG4) then things might improve, although by then they'll probably just squeeze even more channels per QAM rather than let the channels "breathe" with some extra bandwidth.

Given that the SD versions are the west feeds I would guess that the HD versions will be as well. It would be nice to have the east versions as it solves some DVR conflicts, but these channels run their programs multiple times during the week so it's not a big deal. While they do have both east and west of the main channel in SD I can't see them wasting the space they have on extra versions of the HD given they're already 3-packing the HD channels as it is.

Our preference is to watch some stuff on HBO and Showtime (Bill Maher, Entourage, Weeds, etc.) in real time rather than later in the evening and the East Coast feeds would let us watch them in HD rather than stretched SD.

Given that the SD versions are the west feeds I would guess that the HD versions will be as well. It would be nice to have the east versions as it solves some DVR conflicts, but these channels run their programs multiple times during the week so it's not a big deal. While they do have both east and west of the main channel in SD I can't see them wasting the space they have on extra versions of the HD given they're already 3-packing the HD channels as it is.On Comcast, many of the HD versions of Expanded Basic channels are actually east coast feeds. FoodTV HD is one example.

- Mike

On Comcast, many of the HD versions of Expanded Basic channels are actually east coast feeds. FoodTV HD is one example.

- Mike

Yes, I don't think they even have 2 versions of the feed, most cablenet channels only have the one feed for their HD channel. USA and Syfy are 2 examples, it's primarily only the premiums that have both east and west feeds of HD channels.

Put another way, if there's a west coast feed of the HD channel in question, that would be the one Comcast will use.

Our preference is to watch some stuff on HBO and Showtime (Bill Maher, Entourage, Weeds, etc.) in real time rather than later in the evening and the East Coast feeds would let us watch them in HD rather than stretched SD.

So do I, in fact having HBO via Comcast now instead of DirecTV I've had to get used to the west coast time zone feed, "True Blood" at 9pm instead of at 6pm for example. It's definitely nice having those earlier feeds.

Keep in mind that on many channels, particularly the cablenet type channels, which are the channels that Comcast is adding so many of, the PQ quality via DirecTV is a bit better. With just Syfy and HBO the quality is clearly better on DirecTV for example. Comcast is simply not giving the channels enough bandwidth, as long as there's no fast motion the Comcast version is fine, but it falls down when there is.

I really wish Comcast had stayed with their "hands off" policy regarding PQ, but for them to be competitive they simply couldn't. Now, once these channels have switched to MPEG4 transmission(HBO is already MPEG4) then things might improve, although by then they'll probably just squeeze even more channels per QAM rather than let the channels "breathe" with some extra bandwidth.

Very true. The NDTC in Denver which encodes everything uses gear from Imagine networks and it's just plain not good. They know it too, and could use gear from other vendors that comcast uses that would mux it without nearly as many artifacts as the imagine gear creates, but they just don't care about quality.

They can add a lot of channels to catch up in count to DirecTV and VZ, but the quality of the encode will always keep them in the #2 or #3 place because they refuse to address the problem.

Some folks in the comcast systems know about this problem and ared frustrated about it, but the NDTC is run out of a seperate group and they don't have much pull over it. But none of the systems use the imagine gear for VOD stat muxing, etc...

Keep in mind that on many channels, particularly the cablenet type channels, which are the channels that Comcast is adding so many of, the PQ quality via DirecTV is a bit better. With just Syfy and HBO the quality is clearly better on DirecTV for example. Comcast is simply not giving the channels enough bandwidth, as long as there's no fast motion the Comcast version is fine, but it falls down when there is.

I really wish Comcast had stayed with their "hands off" policy regarding PQ, but for them to be competitive they simply couldn't. Now, once these channels have switched to MPEG4 transmission(HBO is already MPEG4) then things might improve, although by then they'll probably just squeeze even more channels per QAM rather than let the channels "breathe" with some extra bandwidth.

I'm very aware of the difference, having spent a fair bit of time in this thread complaining about BSG on the-channel-nka-SyFy back when I was a Comcast customer. But I figured I'd stay away from the topic lest somebody accuse me of trollery. And the three-packing artifacts really do seem to bother some folks more than others. Just like some of us are irritated by faux-HD-ovision provided by KNTV on some Giants broadcasts. And some don't even notice it.

On the MPEG2 vs. MPEG4 point, isn't that an issue for Comcast of having cable boxes for their customers that can decompress MPEG4 transmissions? I can't imagine (for HBO or otherwise) that Comcast is going to have that weapon in its arsenal, because they'd have to replace all the old DCH and DCT boxes out there. Seems to me that HBO may transmit to the providers by MPEG4 (is that what you meant?), but if the provider doesn't have the infrastructure, then it is stuck with the bigger bandwidth requirement of MPEG2. I think that's why folks with really old D* boxes are limited to just a few channels now (and why ESPN-HD shows up two different places in the guides--one in MPEG2 and one in MPEG4). D* is slowly pulling the plug on the old MPEG2 channels as they get their customers to upgrade to the newer MPEG4 boxes.

According to this link (http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/12349.cfm), the first Motorola cable box with MPEG4 is the DCX series. That wasn't available around these parts when I was still a Comcast customer. Heck, I couldn't even get a DCH box when I wanted to dump my DCT!

I'm very aware of the difference, having spent a fair bit of time in this thread complaining about BSG on the-channel-nka-SyFy back when I was a Comcast customer. But I figured I'd stay away from the topic lest somebody accuse me of trollery. And the three-packing artifacts really do seem to bother some folks more than others. Just like some of us are irritated by faux-HD-ovision provided by KNTV on some Giants broadcasts. And some don't even notice it.

On the MPEG2 vs. MPEG4 point, isn't that an issue for Comcast of having cable boxes for their customers that can decompress MPEG4 transmissions? I can't imagine (for HBO or otherwise) that Comcast is going to have that weapon in its arsenal, because they'd have to replace all the old DCH and DCT boxes out there. Seems to me that HBO may transmit to the providers by MPEG4 (is that what you meant?), but if the provider doesn't have the infrastructure, then it is stuck with the bigger bandwidth requirement of MPEG2. I think that's why folks with really old D* boxes are limited to just a few channels now (and why ESPN-HD shows up two different places in the guides--one in MPEG2 and one in MPEG4). D* is slowly pulling the plug on the old MPEG2 channels as they get their customers to upgrade to the newer MPEG4 boxes.

According to this link (http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/12349.cfm), the first Motorola cable box with MPEG4 is the DCX series. That wasn't available around these parts when I was still a Comcast customer. Heck, I couldn't even get a DCH box when I wanted to dump my DCT!

The big issue with the DCH's and DCT's isn't that they don't have mpeg4, it's that the UI is just awful, and has that 80's style font for everything. Just get a Tivo or something that has a decent interface and by the time having MPEG4 will buy you anything they'll be a better option out there (the cablecard Tivo's already have MPEG4 decoders in them anyway).

The big issue with the DCH's and DCT's isn't that they don't have mpeg4, it's that the UI is just awful, and has that 80's style font for everything. Just get a Tivo or something that has a decent interface and by the time having MPEG4 will buy you anything they'll be a better option out there (the cablecard Tivo's already have MPEG4 decoders in them anyway).

Yeah, as I said before, I am no fan of the Motorola boxes currently in use by Comcast in the SF Bay Area. The point, though, has to do with bandwidth. Keenan was wondering (if I read him correctly) if Comcast might have the potential to transmit without three-packing by moving to MPEG4 transmission. But with a huge installed base of MPEG2-only devices, Comcast doesn't have that option. And I'm guessing that they are three-packing because MPEG2 doesn't leave them enough bandwidth to expand HD channels and continue to provide HSI and OnDemand and voice etc. etc. But instead they three-pack.

I'm very aware of the difference, having spent a fair bit of time in this thread complaining about BSG on the-channel-nka-SyFy back when I was a Comcast customer. But I figured I'd stay away from the topic lest somebody accuse me of trollery. And the three-packing artifacts really do seem to bother some folks more than others. Just like some of us are irritated by faux-HD-ovision provided by KNTV on some Giants broadcasts. And some don't even notice it.

On the MPEG2 vs. MPEG4 point, isn't that an issue for Comcast of having cable boxes for their customers that can decompress MPEG4 transmissions? I can't imagine (for HBO or otherwise) that Comcast is going to have that weapon in its arsenal, because they'd have to replace all the old DCH and DCT boxes out there. Seems to me that HBO may transmit to the providers by MPEG4 (is that what you meant?), but if the provider doesn't have the infrastructure, then it is stuck with the bigger bandwidth requirement of MPEG2. I think that's why folks with really old D* boxes are limited to just a few channels now (and why ESPN-HD shows up two different places in the guides--one in MPEG2 and one in MPEG4). D* is slowly pulling the plug on the old MPEG2 channels as they get their customers to upgrade to the newer MPEG4 boxes.

According to this link (http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/12349.cfm), the first Motorola cable box with MPEG4 is the DCX series. That wasn't available around these parts when I was still a Comcast customer. Heck, I couldn't even get a DCH box when I wanted to dump my DCT!

Regarding HBO, for awhile they were providing both MPEG2 and MPEG4 distribution feeds of some or all of their channels. I believe as of late last year though only the MPEG4 feeds are transmitted now. Which means that Comcast is taking an MPEG4 feed and re-muxing/transcoding/whatever it into an MPEG2 feed for delivery on their systems. That can't be good for the quality of the signal.

I think it's going to be a very long time before Comcast is running an MPEG4 delivery system similar to what DirecTV is already doing.

Yeah, as I said before, I am no fan of the Motorola boxes currently in use by Comcast in the SF Bay Area. The point, though, has to do with bandwidth. Keenan was wondering (if I read him correctly) if Comcast might have the potential to transmit without three-packing by moving to MPEG4 transmission. But with a huge installed base of MPEG2-only devices, Comcast doesn't have that option. And I'm guessing that they are three-packing because MPEG2 doesn't leave them enough bandwidth to expand HD channels and continue to provide HSI and OnDemand and voice etc. etc. But instead they three-pack.
Yes, what I meant was, even if/when they go to MPEG4, they'll likely just pack even more channels per QAM negating any benefit of the smaller bandwidth requirement of MPEG4.

It's worth noting, that while DirecTV undoubtedly has carriage rights for all the HBO HD channels, AMC-HD, and several other HD channels they currently do not carry, they are not squeezing the bandwidth of their current lineup just to add them, in effect sacrificing PQ, something that Comcast has done. No doubt they'll be added when the next bird goes up in Sept, CSNBA will likely go full-time as well.

Tom, D* does carry all the HBO channels in HD, with maybe one exception (HBO Latino?)

But there are definitely a few HD channels in that list that D* doesn't yet have, like AMC and IFC.

Of course whether Petaluma or X-area will actually get them is a complete mystery. To my knowledge we still haven't got the last round of HD channels here yet.

Yes, what I meant was, even if/when they go to MPEG4, they'll likely just pack even more channels per QAM negating any benefit of the smaller bandwidth requirement of MPEG4.

It's worth noting, that while DirecTV undoubtedly has carriage rights for all the HBO HD channels, AMC-HD, and several other HD channels they currently do not carry, they are not squeezing the bandwidth of their current lineup just to add them, in effect sacrificing PQ, something that Comcast has done. No doubt they'll be added when the next bird goes up in Sept, CSNBA will likely go full-time as well.

Let me clear about what I was trying to say - you can do stat muxing of HD to save bandwidth and not compromise HD quality very much on most HD feeds. HBO tends to use very good encoders, and squeezing it will hurt. A lot of other networks don't push the resolution and quality as much, and squeezing them can be pretty transparent, WITH THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT. The problem is that COmcast is not using the right equipment to do so.

You would be amazed at how good the technology is to process video these days. It's too bad that comcast isn't taking advantage of it. If they did, they could do the 3 pack without hurting the video...