San Francisco, CA - Comcast [Text View] - Page 45

Cal1981

08-20-09, 03:31 PM

On the next set of launches:

Monday August 24----World Of More launches in Burlingame & Millbrae.

Tuesday August 25----World Of More launches in Palo Alto, Woodside, Portola Valley, Atherton, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Stanford and portions of San Mateo County & Santa Clara County

Thursday August 27---World Of More launches in Healdsburg, Cloverdale, Windsor, Sonoma Co., Geyserville, Forestville, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Cotati, Sebastopol, Penngrove, Graton, Bodega Bay, Occidental, Camp Meeker, Cazadero and Graton.

It is also important to note that we continue to work in numerous communities in the Bay Area on converting the current analog signals transmitting channels 35 to 84 to an “all digital” protocol. This step is necessary to recapture the bandwidth we need to launch the additional 51 HD channels.

Glad to see the corrected dates Mike. Have you seen anything resembling a consistent period between the date that an area has the analogues go away and the date of the HD channel additions? We're still, as far as I know, scheduled for the analogue reclaim by 9/1 but have no info yet as to when to expect the goodies.

hanguk9117

08-20-09, 04:43 PM

Does anyone have any idea when the Alameda County is supposed to get the new HD line-up? I'm located in Fremont and I still don't have it.

MikeSM

08-20-09, 05:00 PM

hey MikeF5, can you pass a question on to Mr J? Now that the moonies sold American Life TV, can we get ALN back on the bay area comcast system? It used to be carried and has a lot of old programs and family programming, which is unique.

rxp19

08-20-09, 05:35 PM

Does anyone have any idea when the Alameda County is supposed to get the new HD line-up? I'm located in Fremont and I still don't have it.

I'm also curious about Fremont too.

vincesfo

08-20-09, 05:35 PM

Hello, does anyone know if "portions of San Mateo County" (per MikeF5's post) include South San Francisco for this coming Tuesday's upgrade???

Thanks!

Xn0r

08-20-09, 07:13 PM

For those of you that had the 2 channels, 772 Bio-HD and 795 Lifetime-HD, showing "not authorized" message or not being able to tune them in. Check again, I can receive them now and their guide data is correct on both Comcast and my Tivo. I would like to know if you're getting them or not so we can lay this problem to rest ;)

Both working. Both have good guide data on the Tivo. 795 has incorrect PG data on Comcast cable box. :)

keenan

08-20-09, 09:03 PM

Got the confirmation from TiVo on the 2 CSN sports net channels, it says they should be corrected in 7 days, so next Monday we'll see how accurate they are.:)

That was quick, both Zap2it and TiVo now have correct guide data for the Comcast RSN channels in Santa Rosa. I submitted the changes(to both Zap2it and TiVo) on Monday, I'm impressed. :)

Also got rid of that odd (CSNBD3) channel name for CSNBA, it now says CSNBD.

belaus

08-20-09, 10:38 PM

It wasn't working earlier today, but is now.

TPeterson

08-21-09, 11:44 AM

I have HDTV with QAM tuner and was able to get many digital cable channel like USA, TNT, SYFY. I also have Kworld SA290-QLE set top TV box QAM tuner. The Kworld would only get the local HD and digital but did not get the same extended cable that my HDTV gets. Is there something wrong witht he Kworld Tuner ? Is there anything I can do to get the Kworld box to tune to same channel as my HDTVShirl, it sounds as though the KWorld STB ignores stations that don't include PSIP data, which means (so far) all of the non-local channels that Comcast carries in clear QAM. You could get a different product (e.g., TViX R-2210/R-3310 or DTV Pal) that works more similarly to your HDTV tuner for a bit more than the KWorld unit costs, but you should perhaps consider the fact that Comcast may make those non-local channels unavailable to those other tuners also any time that it wants to do so.

Brian Conrad

08-21-09, 04:29 PM

The DTV Pal series including the HD DVR is only ATSC. Good solution though if you have an ancient HD set (component only) and have OTA though only the DVR has HD support. If you're a geek of course you can just build an HTPC probably for less but then it may not be as spiffy.

chinapaulo

08-22-09, 12:47 AM

I'm also curious about Fremont too.
I'd like to know about the East Bay as well -- Oakland, in my case. We have DOCSIS 3.0, but no word on the new HD channels. I did just get a couple new SD channels (including ESPN-U) the other day, but I want more HD! :)

stretch437

08-22-09, 12:50 AM

my DCX STB finally got software version 22.35 last night.

no world of more channels in my part of the peninsula yet which according to mikef5 i should not be expecting for a few more days yet anyway.

Barovelli

08-22-09, 02:01 AM

my DCX STB finally got software version 22.35 last night.

Any changes?

HDMI is now steady with my Bravia.

theman23

08-22-09, 02:10 AM

Any mention of San Francisco itself? Is there a reason that many cities in the Bay Area are getting this upgrade, but there's no news about SF?

MKANET

08-22-09, 02:20 AM

I wonder when it will for Vallejo. Anyone know?

Xn0r

08-22-09, 06:30 AM

Well there was another update to our lineup today. Fortunately they fixed program data for:

745 CCHD, 763 DXDHD, 781 VH1HD, 782 MTVHD, 801 HBOHDP, 817 STZEHD, 838 MAXHDP

Unfortunately, they BROKE several channels which had correct data!!!!:

816 STZHD, 825 SHOWHD, 826 SHOW2HD, 847 TMCHD

Yea! I guess we TivoHD owners in the Bay Area (or perhaps just the south bay) came out ahead by three, since they fixed 7, and broke four. Too bad all my showtime season passes which worked fine before are screwed now until they fix it. :mad:

I even got paranoid today and repeated guided set up, thinking maybe it was my fault. Nope.

There are also still a few that are broken which I've already submitted a report for previously.

768 FAMHD, 769 DISHD, 775 ENCHD, 778 CMTHD

I suppose I need to submit another for the newly broken channels. :(

MikeSM

08-22-09, 01:02 PM

What a disaster. San Mateo guide data is still screwed up... How come this takes so long to fix?

Mikef5

08-22-09, 01:08 PM

What a disaster. San Mateo guide data is still screwed up... How come this takes so long to fix?

Mike,

What exactly is screwed up ? What channels and are you talking about Comcast or Tivo ( there's be discussions about both of them ) ?

Laters,
Mikef5

Xn0r

08-22-09, 08:49 PM

Mike,

What exactly is screwed up ? What channels and are you talking about Comcast or Tivo ( there's be discussions about both of them ) ?

Both really. In some cases the Tivo PG data is bad, in others, the Comcast, and in others both. I'm mostly concerned with the Tivo PG though.

reign80

08-22-09, 08:58 PM

Xn0r

08-22-09, 10:54 PM

Strange problem here folks....

I have basic Comcast here in San Francisc and for some reason after I did "auto program" on my HDTV to pick up some over the air HDTV channel, it seems that many of the channel is now all over the place. I mean it was working fine for 2 years and now its all change.

ESPN2 which is channel 39 has no sound, all I get is static picture/snow effect. Channel 40 which is Fox Sport is now gone.
Channel 41 which is TBS is is gone.
Channel 42 which is the USA channel is now on a different channel
etc..

Channel 41-2, 41-4 seems to appear out of nowhere and it is a Hispanic channel.
Could be a few things. First, Comcast is going digital, and you need a converter box to get even basic now, unless your TV has a cablecard in it. Unless it's a TV that can natively do the digital cable thing without a cablecard (I don't even know if those exist).

Second, it could be that you have switched your TV into OTA mode. On my TV (an Olevia), the RF connector is either set for cable, or OTA. It can't do both at once.

If you want both OTA and Cable at once, you'll either need to get a cable box and plug that into some video input on the TV (composite, S-Video, Component or HDMI), and plug your antenna into the RF jack, or you have to have a TV that can handle both digital cable and ATSC OTA signals from an antenna simultaneously.

Xn0r

08-23-09, 07:19 AM

I just noticed something new about the Comcast/Tivo PG fiasco. Almost all the channels which have bad data are ones which have been moved from old to new channels.

For instance, Disney HD (765 old, 769 new). Both my cable box and the tivo can still receive both, and they are showing identical video. The cable box happens to have the PG data correct for both channels (this may be new, because I know some were wrong yesterday). The Tivo has the old channel correct, and the new channel incorrect. It lists the old channel as DISNHD, and the new as DISNHDP! Both should be DISNHD.

Similarly, for Shotime HD (785 old, 825 new), it shows the same exact thing on the channel. Cable box has both chans correct. Tivo has PG data correct for the old channel (SHOWHDP), and incorrect for the new channel (SHOWHD). Both in this case should be SHOWHDP.

This pattern is repeated on several of the "Bad PG data" channels.

I'm wondering if there's some issue with the Tivo PG system where it can't handle identical channels on two different channel numbers, with the same identifying information? Or something along those lines.

Anyway, the silver lining here is that some of the channels they "broke" in the last update still have the old versions of those channels available, so my season passes work fine on those, until Comcast stops transmitting on them, or begins transmitting a new channel on that channel number.

Other channels are still just plain broke.

MikeSM

08-23-09, 10:43 AM

Both really. In some cases the Tivo PG data is bad, in others, the Comcast, and in others both. I'm mostly concerned with the Tivo PG though.

Both, but the Tivo/SageTV/Tribune problem is the one that causes me the most grief.

maddog510

08-23-09, 02:19 PM

Can I use the Belden 7916a Coax cable with the Motorola SB6120 DOCSIS 3.0 modem?

clau

08-23-09, 02:36 PM

Can I use the Belden 7916a Coax cable with the Motorola SB6120 DOCSIS 3.0 modem?

Of course. Why can't you?

maddog510

08-23-09, 02:38 PM

Just wanted to make sure. Maybe I'll use the 1694a.

pappy97

08-23-09, 03:09 PM

Does anyone have any idea when the Alameda County is supposed to get the new HD line-up? I'm located in Fremont and I still don't have it.

That's why I posted this, and it's a fair question that should be answered if someone has info. My fear is that Fremont. Newark, Hayward, Oakland etc will have to wait for these new HD channels as long as they had to wait for 3.0 while other Comcast Bay Area cities had 3.0, approx. 4 months.:

So for all the areas that just got DOCSIS3.0 less than a month ago (Fremont, Newark, Hayward, etc), are we to assume that the delay between San Jose getting 3.0 and those areas getting 3.0 will be the same time period those areas have to wait for all those new HD channels that San Jose [or whatever cities got it] just got? I.e., should we be assuming end of the year? (I think from beginning to end of the 3.0 Bay Area rollout was about 4 months)

Or is there a set date, perhaps earlier?

Thanks to anyone with inside info.

fender4645

08-23-09, 09:20 PM

For those that listen to KCBS, have you heard the commercial that Steve Bitker does for Comcast where he emphasizes the "rollout" of the new HD channels and how not every area is going to get it all at once? I found it interesting how Comcast is going on the offensive in warning people that not everyone is getting the new channels. First I've heard of such a thing in a commercial.

stretch437

08-24-09, 02:26 AM

i did hear that commercial and felt it was surprisingly well-done.

barovelli, i personally did not experience a change with my HDMI sync after 22.35 on the DCX STB because i wasn't one of the ones having the problem *prior* to the new firmware push. i will say that the EPG is much more responsive now. so it's a win either way.

generally a pretty good box. still not a big quantum leap from the old DCT days, but it does offer a couple things i care about, so it was totally worth the effort to get one.

MikeSM

08-24-09, 03:57 PM

That's why I posted this, and it's a fair question that should be answered if someone has info. My fear is that Fremont. Newark, Hayward, Oakland etc will have to wait for these new HD channels as long as they had to wait for 3.0 while other Comcast Bay Area cities had 3.0, approx. 4 months.:

Well, technically I have had the new channels for 2 weeks, but the guide data is so messed up I basically can't use them. Hopefully it will be less than 4 months for these guys to get this straightened out.

Comcast could have had a huge win here with these HD adds, but now the only thing people are talking about is how the guide data is all messed up.

MikeSM

08-24-09, 04:07 PM

BTW, isn't palo alto supposed to have all the new channels today? I notice zap2it (tribune) has the same old lineup from before. Doesn't comcast learn from it's mistakes??

Mikef5

08-24-09, 04:59 PM

BTW, isn't palo alto supposed to have all the new channels today? I notice zap2it (tribune) has the same old lineup from before. Doesn't comcast learn from it's mistakes??

On the next set of launches:

Monday August 24----World Of More launches in Burlingame & Millbrae.

Tuesday August 25----World Of More launches in Palo Alto, Woodside, Portola Valley, Atherton, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Stanford and portions of San Mateo County & Santa Clara County

Thursday August 27---World Of More launches in Healdsburg, Cloverdale, Windsor, Sonoma Co., Geyserville, Forestville, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Cotati, Sebastopol, Penngrove, Graton, Bodega Bay, Occidental, Camp Meeker, Cazadero and Graton.

Palo Alto launches on the 25th of August not the 24th and that's when it launches not necessarily when they will get them but some time during that week.
So learn from what mistake, that zap2it hasn't updated the lineup of an area that hasn't launched yet ?

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-24-09, 05:08 PM

Well, technically I have had the new channels for 2 weeks, but the guide data is so messed up I basically can't use them. Hopefully it will be less than 4 months for these guys to get this straightened out.

Comcast could have had a huge win here with these HD adds, but now the only thing people are talking about is how the guide data is all messed up.

Try going direct to Zap2it, it took them less than 3 days to fix my 2 Comcast RSNs that have had bad guide data for months(4-5?). I even gave them the wrong channel numbers initially, responded to their response and they recovered immediately. The "form" is not the most user friendly, but it does seem to be effective. As noted by someone earlier, if it doesn't show up(or is incorrect) on the Zap2it guide(Tribune Media), it wont show up on a TiVo either.

http://www.zap2it.com/services/site/zap-feedback,0,6935396.story

MikeSM

08-24-09, 06:37 PM

Try going direct to Zap2it, it took them less than 3 days to fix my 2 Comcast RSNs that have had bad guide data for months(4-5?). I even gave them the wrong channel numbers initially, responded to their response and they recovered immediately. The "form" is not the most user friendly, but it does seem to be effective. As noted by someone earlier, if it doesn't show up(or is incorrect) on the Zap2it guide(Tribune Media), it wont show up on a TiVo either.

http://www.zap2it.com/services/site/zap-feedback,0,6935396.story

I already did that... :-)

MikeSM

08-24-09, 06:39 PM

Palo Alto launches on the 25th of August not the 24th and that's when it launches not necessarily when they will get them but some time during that week.
So learn from what mistake, that zap2it hasn't updated the lineup of an area that hasn't launched yet ?

Laters,
Mikef5

My mistake. We'll see if it's right when the actual cutover happens. Tribune has flags in their data feeds that tell people that a change is coming and when exactly to invalidate the old data and get the new data. So if they get appropriate notice, the transition should happen seamlessly.

keenan

08-24-09, 06:42 PM

I already did that... :-)

And nothing happened? Did they respond?

bwelling

08-24-09, 06:55 PM

Comcast could have had a huge win here with these HD adds, but now the only thing people are talking about is how the guide data is all messed up.

That's not completely true. Plenty of us are talking about the fact that we don't know if or when we'll ever get the new stations...

MikeSM

08-24-09, 07:01 PM

And nothing happened? Did they respond?

I just got a response today. I submitted the form mid last week. Hopefully things will update soon. Maybe folks in palo alto should pre-submit a complaint today. :-)

keenan

08-24-09, 09:04 PM

What ever happened to HDNet? It's been a year since Comcast and HDNet had a contract. I guess it died with "Project Infinity", now Comcast is touting "World of More" and it looks like HDNet isn't part of that "World".

pappy97

08-25-09, 01:27 PM

Well, technically I have had the new channels for 2 weeks, but the guide data is so messed up I basically can't use them. Hopefully it will be less than 4 months for these guys to get this straightened out.

Comcast could have had a huge win here with these HD adds, but now the only thing people are talking about is how the guide data is all messed up.

Thanks, I understand that, but that doesn't really address the issue of whether the approx 4 month delay between initial 3.0 rollout to full roll out (Fremont, Newark, UC, Hayward, Oakland) will be the same delay between initial rollout of these channels and full rollout in the Bay Area.

I understand there are problems with the new channel rollout, but even when those problems are resolved, there is still no word as to whether those that had to wait 4 months for 3.0 will have to wait 4 months (or more) for the new HD channels. The lack of discussion on this forum from the "insiders" re: East Bay is very troubling if you live in the areas that were last to get 3.0.

Mikef5

08-25-09, 01:28 PM

Next areas to launch the new HD channels.....

------------------------------------------------------------

Monday, August 31st World of More launches in….

Brentwood, Oakley, Byron, Knightsen, Bethel Island, Discovery Bay, Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Sunol, San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, Foster City, Hillsborough, Emerald Hills, Vacaville, Rio Vista, Pittsburg, Antioch and Bay Point.

As we talked about during our phone call last week, we will start up the next round of communities to get the increased HD channel lineups shortly after the Labor Day Holiday.

Stay tuned.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Laters,
Mikef5

Ace of Space

08-25-09, 02:08 PM

San Jose in 2010?:rolleyes:

keenan

08-25-09, 02:24 PM

___________________________________________________________

You can pass this along to the Forum…..

On the next set of launches:

Monday August 24----World Of More launches in Burlingame & Millbrae.

Tuesday August 25----World Of More launches in Palo Alto, Woodside, Portola Valley, Atherton, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Stanford and portions of San Mateo County & Santa Clara County

Thursday August 27---World Of More launches in Healdsburg, Cloverdale, Windsor, Sonoma Co., Geyserville, Forestville, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Cotati, Sebastopol, Penngrove, Graton, Bodega Bay, Occidental, Camp Meeker, Cazadero and Graton.

Mikef5
[B]Next areas to launch the new HD channels.....

------------------------------------------------------------

Monday, August 31st World of More launches in….

Brentwood, Oakley, Byron, Knightsen, Bethel Island, Discovery Bay, Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Sunol, San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, Foster City, Hillsborough, Emerald Hills, Vacaville, Rio Vista, Pittsburg, Antioch and Bay Point.

As we talked about during our phone call last week, we will start up the next round of communities to get the increased HD channel lineups shortly after the Labor Day Holiday.

Stay tuned.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Laters,
Mikef5

Ah see, what did I tell you about Siberia? This is me waving bye-bye to the Comcast upgrade team as they drive right through Santa Rosa(without upgrading with new channels) on their way to Contra Costa and east Alameda Co. :D

pappy97

08-25-09, 02:36 PM

Ah see, what did I tell you about Siberia? This is me waving bye-bye to the Comcast upgrade team as they drive right through Santa Rosa(without upgrading with new channels) on their way to Contra Costa and east Alameda Co. :D

August 27 says "Sonoma Co," doesn't that include Santa Rosa?

Seems like you might be better off than Fremont/Newark/UC/Oakland/Hayward, with no word whatsoever of this rollout and just coming off a 4 month delay for 3.0 from initial 3.0 roll out to full 3.0 rollout that included these areas.

MikeSM

08-25-09, 03:02 PM

keenan

08-25-09, 03:15 PM

August 27 says "Sonoma Co," doesn't that include Santa Rosa?

Seems like you might be better off than Fremont/Newark/UC/Oakland/Hayward, with no word whatsoever of this rollout and just coming off a 4 month delay for 3.0 from initial 3.0 roll out to full 3.0 rollout that included these areas.

No it doesn't, it means the small un-incorporated areas and towns in the county.

Santa Rosa is a whole other ballgame.

keenan

08-25-09, 03:25 PM

Oh keenan, why are you complaining? You've already had these channels on DirecTV for a year anyway!

Actually, I trimmed down my programming with them down to the base package to save some money since the deal I got with Comcast was so good. I'm giving up a bit of PQ on the cablenet channels, but with Comcast I'm basically getting them for free whereas they were costing me with DirecTV.

Comcast carries, or is going to carry very soon the HBO-HD channels that DirecTV doesn't carry and there's a foreign language series starting in Sept on HBO-Signature that I want to see in HD. DirecTV probably won't have these channels until early next year.

Plus, I get HBO free for 2 years with Comcast, need to maximize that value. :D

mds54

08-25-09, 04:14 PM

San Jose in 2010?:rolleyes:

If we're lucky.
I've never even seen SJ mentioned for future dates yet.....

keenan

08-25-09, 04:56 PM

Security enabled DTAs are a go per FCC.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17061713#post17061713

Mikef5

08-25-09, 05:04 PM

Security enabled DTAs are a go per FCC.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17061713#post17061713

I saw that on Lightreading website. Guess what that could lead to ?? I have a feeling about that but I'm not going to speculate or give them any ideas about what they could do with it ( security enabled ). I just hope they don't do what I think they will do with it. ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

rsra13

08-25-09, 08:07 PM

:( I just came here to check if someone in San Jose received new HD channels today. Yeah, I was dumb enough to have a little hope that "parts of Santa Clara county" meant some parts of San Jose. :p

cstar

08-25-09, 09:17 PM

Anyone hear anything about the new HD channels arriving in Los Gatos?

Saratoga, Milpitas, and Los Gatos used to be tied together, but Saratoga and Milpitas have the new channels already.

Joe.

keenan

08-25-09, 10:59 PM

stretch437

08-26-09, 12:15 AM

BTW, isn't palo alto supposed to have all the new channels today? I notice zap2it (tribune) has the same old lineup from before. Doesn't comcast learn from it's mistakes??

Palo Alto launches on the 25th of August not the 24th and that's when it launches not necessarily when they will get them but some time during that week.

i don't see what all the fuss is about: palo alto appeared to get all the world of more channels today right on time.

in fact even as early as last night they seemed to be making some preparatory changes since i was startled to find mad men in HD (i was pretty sure i never saw this until last night or i would have been watching the new season in real time instead of watching old seasons via netflix). tonight i went back to look at the same cable box and found that channel (769) had already been changed to disney HD. amc had moved to 798..

just for the heck of it, here is a snapshot as of tonight (obviously this is temporary and will get shuffled again shortly- at least three networks appear twice ):

702 KTVUD
703 DKNTV
704 KROND
705 KPIXD
706 KICUD
707 KGODT
708
709 KQEDH
710
711 IONHD
712 KBCWD
713
714
715 LIVWL
716
717 WGNHD
718 QVCHD
719
720 CSNBA
721 CSNCD
722 GOLFD
723 VSHD
724 ESPND
725 ES2HD
726 ESWHD
727 NBAHD
728 NHLHD
729 MLBHD
730 NFLHD
731 SPDHD
732 CBSCH
733 BRVOD
734 A&EHD
735 TBSHD
736 SyFyD
737 TNTHD
738 USAHD
739 UHD
740 TVONE
741 FXHD
742 STYLE
743 SPKHD
744 G4HD
745 CMDYD
746 HGTVD
747 FOODD
748
749 HALLD
750 DSCHD
751 APHD
752 TLCHD
753 E!HD
754 HDT
755 TRAVHD
756 SCIHD
757 NGCHD
758 HISHD
759 CNNHD
760 FNCHD
761 FBNHD
762 CNBCD
763 DXDHD
764 FAMHD
765 DISHD
766 TOOND
767 NICHD
768 FAMHD
769 DISHD
770 HBOHD
771 GRNHD
772 BIOHD
773
774
775 ENCHD
776 TWCHD
777 BETD
778 CMTHD
779 FUSED
780 SZHDW
781 VH1HD
782 MTVHD
783 PLDHD
784 OUTHD
785 SHOHD
786
787 mnbcD
788
789
790 IFCHD
791 WE HD
792 MXHDW
793
794 HALLD
795 LIFEH
796 LMNHD
797 MGMHD
798 AMCHD
799 FMOD

i think this is accurate but it's a little hard to tell since the remote has been embedded in the glass of my TV ever since the end of the giants game last night.

clau

08-26-09, 12:32 AM

Does anyone know if Comcast intends to carry HBO Signature?

By the way, I subscribe to HBO. After the recent additions, I had to change the channel settings on the TiVo to have those channels above 800 show up on the guide. In particular, I get HBO Comedy, Zone and Latino, but for some reason, the TiVo did not know that until I went back into the channel settings in TiVo.

Mikef5

08-26-09, 01:25 AM

i don't see what all the fuss is about: palo alto appeared to get all the world of more channels today right on time.

in fact even as early as last night they seemed to be making some preparatory changes since i was startled to find mad men in HD (i was pretty sure i never saw this until last night or i would have been watching the new season in real time instead of watching old seasons via netflix). tonight i went back to look at the same cable box and found that channel (769) had already been changed to disney HD. amc had moved to 798..

just for the heck of it, here is a snapshot as of tonight (obviously this is temporary and will get shuffled again shortly- at least three networks appear twice ):

702 KTVUD
703 DKNTV
704 KROND
705 KPIXD
706 KICUD
707 KGODT
708
709 KQEDH
710
711 IONHD
712 KBCWD
713
714
715 LIVWL
716
717 WGNHD
718 QVCHD
719
720 CSNBA
721 CSNCD
722 GOLFD
723 VSHD
724 ESPND
725 ES2HD
726 ESWHD
727 NBAHD
728 NHLHD
729 MLBHD
730 NFLHD
731 SPDHD
732 CBSCH
733 BRVOD
734 A&EHD
735 TBSHD
736 SyFyD
737 TNTHD
738 USAHD
739 UHD
740 TVONE
741 FXHD
742 STYLE
743 SPKHD
744 G4HD
745 CMDYD
746 HGTVD
747 FOODD
748
749 HALLD
750 DSCHD
751 APHD
752 TLCHD
753 E!HD
754 HDT
755 TRAVHD
756 SCIHD
757 NGCHD
758 HISHD
759 CNNHD
760 FNCHD
761 FBNHD
762 CNBCD
763 DXDHD
764 FAMHD
765 DISHD
766 TOOND
767 NICHD
768 FAMHD
769 DISHD
770 HBOHD
771 GRNHD
772 BIOHD
773
774
775 ENCHD
776 TWCHD
777 BETD
778 CMTHD
779 FUSED
780 SZHDW
781 VH1HD
782 MTVHD
783 PLDHD
784 OUTHD
785 SHOHD
786
787 mnbcD
788
789
790 IFCHD
791 WE HD
792 MXHDW
793
794 HALLD
795 LIFEH
796 LMNHD
797 MGMHD
798 AMCHD
799 FMOD

i think this is accurate but it's a little hard to tell since the remote has been embedded in the glass of my TV ever since the end of the giants game last night.

Wow, on time even.

Boy, you had to bring up that fiasco last night.... a walk on Grand Slam... another nail in the coffin for this season. At least they didn't blow tonight's game, even though Wilson, The Heart Attack Kid, was sucking again. He's either great or sucks there is no in between with him ;)

If you have a Tivo, check your guide data on your Tivo, it's still screwed up here in Milpitas, as a matter of fact they made another change to the guide and screwed up more channels. The fun never ends.

Laters,
Mikef5

Xn0r

08-26-09, 02:46 AM

OK. Another update by Tivo today. But guess what? They made it worse! Today, they deleted all the "old" HD channels. If you read part 1 and part 2 of the "saga", you'll see that the old HD channels are still working, and have good PG data from Tivo, and the new ones have PG data in the wrong time zone.

So the "silver lining" before was that I could keep my season passes on the old versions of the HD channels, and they'd still work. But now, Tivo deleted them, so no way to set passes on them. YAY! :rolleyes: Maybe they read my last post? ;)

So here's the list of channels the daily call deleted, along with some status and other info:

Deleted Old Chan|Code|Name|New Chan|New Code|PG Data Status
764|ABCFHD|ABC Family|768|ABCFHDP|BAD
765|DISNHD|Disney HD|769|DISNHDP|BAD
770|HBOHDP|HBO HD|801|HBOHDP|Good
780|STZHDP|Starz HD|816|STZHD|BAD
785|SHOWHDP|Shotime HD|825|SHOWHD|BAD
792|MAXHDP|Cinemax HD|838|MAXHDP|Good

All of the channels marked "BAD" simply have to have their channel "code" (or whatever the proper term is) reversed from the new to the old.

So looks like for the now I'm going to have to set up manual recordings for all of the Shotime series I follow (Weeds, Nurse Jackie, P&T BS).

I DID put a correction request in last friday (or thursday?) for this situation (the bad PG data for the new channels which they broke last week in an update), but only got the confirmation on it today. Maybe in another week they'll finally fix it. :sigh:

Pretty sad that they went and deleted the "old" versions, leaving only two of the six with correct PG data. Especially since leaving the old channels alone wouldn't have hurt anything. This has really turned into comedy.

Perhaps someone can get this over to Tivo to expedite? ;)

NorthOTA

08-26-09, 03:00 AM

Xn0r

08-26-09, 03:17 AM

Does anyone know if Comcast intends to carry HBO Signature?
Yes. Chan 802.

By the way, I subscribe to HBO. After the recent additions, I had to change the channel settings on the TiVo to have those channels above 800 show up on the guide. In particular, I get HBO Comedy, Zone and Latino, but for some reason, the TiVo did not know that until I went back into the channel settings in TiVo.
That's normal for Tivo. When new channels come you, typically you get a new message telling you there are new channels available, and to go into the setup screens to add them.

BTW, I've attached the flyer from Comcast for the new Bay Area channels.

stretch437

08-26-09, 03:19 AM

A buddy of mine with Comcast Basic (analog) said that he was told that
Comcast sends the digital channels along with the analog channels on the Basic package. He was wondering if a QAM tuner would allow him to view the digital channels. Does anyone know if Comcast sends the digital channels along with the analog channels on the Basic package or is this an urban legend?

it's usually true. this is like the number one "frequently asked question"

hook up any TV with a QAM tuner, scan, and unless there's some kind of notch filter or something, start surfing around. you'll probably see that you do get channels, but the channel "numbers" are a little mysterious. but hey- "you get what you pay for."

ps mikef5- no tivo, just regular STB .

keenan

08-26-09, 03:37 AM

Yes. Chan 802.

That's normal for Tivo. When new channels come you, typically you get a new message telling you there are new channels available, and to go into the setup screens to add them.

BTW, I've attached the flyer from Comcast for the new Bay Area channels.

Weird that they're giving us the HBO2 east feed instead of the west feed, but it works for me, I wish they'd give us the east feed on the main channel as well.

Xn0r

08-26-09, 03:51 AM

Weird that they're giving us the HBO2 east feed instead of the west feed, but it works for me, I wish they'd give us the east feed on the main channel as well.

Yeah I like the East feeds myself for the Tivo, since the shows come on early, and when I get home I can just play them and not have to wait until "prime time". :)

keenan

08-26-09, 04:10 AM

Exactly, and during the Big 4 broadcast TV season there's no recording conflicts.

clau

08-26-09, 08:29 AM

Yes. Chan 802.

Are you receiving Channel 802 now? I am not getting it in 94087. It's not on the list published in the Comcast "World of More" announcement.

AndyN

08-26-09, 11:15 AM

702 KTVUD
703 DKNTV
704 KROND
705 KPIXD
706 KICUD
707 KGODT
708
709 KQEDH
710
711 IONHD
712 KBCWD
713
714
715 LIVWL
716
717 WGNHD
718 QVCHD
719
720 CSNBA
721 CSNCD
722 GOLFD
723 VSHD
724 ESPND
725 ES2HD
726 ESWHD
727 NBAHD
728 NHLHD
729 MLBHD
730 NFLHD
731 SPDHD
732 CBSCH
733 BRVOD
734 A&EHD
735 TBSHD
736 SyFyD
737 TNTHD
738 USAHD
739 UHD
740 TVONE
741 FXHD
742 STYLE
743 SPKHD
744 G4HD
745 CMDYD
746 HGTVD
747 FOODD
748
749 HALLD
750 DSCHD
751 APHD
752 TLCHD
753 E!HD
754 HDT
755 TRAVHD
756 SCIHD
757 NGCHD
758 HISHD
759 CNNHD
760 FNCHD
761 FBNHD
762 CNBCD
763 DXDHD
764 FAMHD
765 DISHD
766 TOOND
767 NICHD
768 FAMHD
769 DISHD
770 HBOHD
771 GRNHD
772 BIOHD
773
774
775 ENCHD
776 TWCHD
777 BETD
778 CMTHD
779 FUSED
780 SZHDW
781 VH1HD
782 MTVHD
783 PLDHD
784 OUTHD
785 SHOHD
786
787 mnbcD
788
789
790 IFCHD
791 WE HD
792 MXHDW
793
794 HALLD
795 LIFEH
796 LMNHD
797 MGMHD
798 AMCHD
799 FMOD

Wow, being in Fremont this list really depresses me.

Cal1981

08-26-09, 12:07 PM

Yeah I like the East feeds myself for the Tivo, since the shows come on early, and when I get home I can just play them and not have to wait until "prime time". :)

Amen Brother. The West feed is great for primetime movies but for some of the series that are on later (Bill Maher, Entourage, etc) the East feed works for us Left Coasters:)

dandrewk

08-26-09, 12:40 PM

Brian Conrad

08-26-09, 12:40 PM

Sheesh, lots of pixelation during the fight scene on Warehouse 13(Syfy) tonight. It would really be nice if Comcast cared more about their PQ than their bank accounts. Of course, it is a business, so what ever they can get away with works for them.

It wasn't all that long ago that Mr. J himself stated unequivocally that Comcast "passed 'em as they got 'em". Ah, the golden years of great PQ on Comcast, alas, they are no more...

I didn't notice that much until the fight scene towards the end. Another thing I'm seeing particularly on Syfy is that some the spots even though I skip through them are apparently in SD. With my ancient HD RPTV that makes it switch resolutions and when it goes back to the show it takes few seconds to switch the output to HD. I would have thought all the spots would have been just upverted on HD.

clau

08-26-09, 12:41 PM

Are you receiving Channel 802 now? I am not getting it in 94087. It's not on the list published in the Comcast "World of More" announcement.

I am still not getting 802 or 803 in Sunnyvale. Chatted with Comcast agent, and they sent a hit to the cable cards. A couple of hours later, those channels still are MIA. Does anyone in Sunnyvale get these two stations?

Milenkod

08-26-09, 12:43 PM

I currently have the Moto DCH3416. Yesterday a Comcast installer, here on another issue, mentioned an updated HD DVR from Comcast-one that has a slightly larger HD and 1080p. He said installers don't have them, but users can swap them at a Comcast location.

Did he speak the truth? What model number is it? Any reason not to upgrade?

As always, any info greatly appreciated!from what I understand, this is true. Several thread contributors have done just that. The upgrade is marginal based on feedback from those who've swapped theirs.

millerwill

08-26-09, 01:07 PM

I currently have the Moto DCH3416. Yesterday a Comcast installer, here on another issue, mentioned an updated HD DVR from Comcast-one that has a slightly larger HD and 1080p. He said installers don't have them, but users can swap them at a Comcast location.

Did he speak the truth? What model number is it? Any reason not to upgrade?

As always, any info greatly appreciated!

It's the DCX 3400 (250 mB memory); there's a thread on it in the dvr section.

The main new feature is the ability to select 'Native' resolution for HDMI, so that the box passes on 720p or 1080i directly to the display without processing it.

stretch437

08-26-09, 01:20 PM

dandrewk

08-26-09, 01:21 PM

It's the DCX 3400 (250 mB memory); there's a thread on it in the dvr section.

The main new feature is the ability to select 'Native' resolution for HDMI, so that the box passes on 720p or 1080i directly to the display without processing it.

Thanks. How much larger is the hard drive?

walk

08-26-09, 02:00 PM

stretch437

08-26-09, 02:14 PM

Thanks. How much larger is the hard drive?
i think when millerwill said "250 mB memory" he meant "250GB hard drive capacity"

clearly larger than the 160GB you get with DCT or DCH models ending in xx16

MikeSM

08-26-09, 02:29 PM

yes. and technically the 1080p feature would mostly be useful for VOD movies transmitted in 1080p24 . (i don't believe comcast is even doing this yet.) most people are thinking of 1080p60 when they say "1080p" . this box doesn't output 1080p60.

The cable boxes don't support bitrates capable of doing 1080p... It's funny, given where the silverlight 2nd gen vc-1 implementation is at, netflix could send us bluray quality video over the cable modem network, and outclass the best comcast can do with their proprietary video streams.

keenan

08-26-09, 02:35 PM

I didn't notice that much until the fight scene towards the end. Another thing I'm seeing particularly on Syfy is that some the spots even though I skip through them are apparently in SD. With my ancient HD RPTV that makes it switch resolutions and when it goes back to the show it takes few seconds to switch the output to HD. I would have thought all the spots would have been just upverted on HD.

It was during both fight scenes, what ever Comcast is doing to the signal it just doesn't handle closeup fast motion well at all. That Eureka scene awhile back was ridiculous, with Comcast you couldn't even tell it was a person walking by, with DirecTV I could tell what she was wearing, hair color, etc.

You're saying some of the commercials are in SD, a resolution other than the native 1080i? That doesn't make much sense, but I suppose it's possible, I haven't noticed it, I zip through the commercials pretty fast.

keenan

08-26-09, 02:38 PM

Milenkod

08-26-09, 02:41 PM

It was during both fight scenes, what ever Comcast is doing to the signal it just doesn't handle closeup fast motion well at all. That Eureka scene awhile back was ridiculous, with Comcast you couldn't even tell it was a person walking by, with DirecTV I could tell what she was wearing, hair color, etc.Now, I understand that issues as the above go away with an on-demand or DVR recorded episode...is that correct? I really enjoy SyFy channel shows, but rarely watch as-broadcast. It's always off the DVR.

millerwill

08-26-09, 02:54 PM

i think when millerwill said "250 mB memory" he meant "250GB hard drive capacity"

clearly larger than the 160GB you get with DCT or DCH models ending in xx16

Correct; thanks for clarifying.

walk

08-26-09, 02:55 PM

The cable boxes don't support bitrates capable of doing 1080p... It's funny, given where the silverlight 2nd gen vc-1 implementation is at, netflix could send us bluray quality video over the cable modem network, and outclass the best comcast can do with their proprietary video streams.
Actually 1080p/24 requires less bandwidth than 1080i.
Unless you are talking about some other limitation of the hardware.

Of course 1080p/60 is out of the question, but it would be overkill anyway since there's no broadcast material that could take advantage of it.

Now, I understand that issues as the above go away with an on-demand or DVR recorded episode...is that correct? I really enjoy SyFy channel shows, but rarely watch as-broadcast. It's always off the DVR.VOD maybe, but DVR recordings are exactly as they are broadcast, it simply records the MPEG stream directly to disk.

Milenkod

08-26-09, 03:01 PM

Actually 1080p/24 requires less bandwidth than 1080i.
Unless you are talking about some other limitation of the hardware.

Of course 1080p/60 is out of the question, but it would be overkill anyway since there's no broadcast material that could take advantage of it.

VOD maybe, but DVR recordings are exactly as they are broadcast, it simple records the MPEG stream directly to disk.Why hasn't Comcast gone to Mpeg4? If the PQ is a bandwidth/compression issue, MPEG4 should help. I've been with DirecTV since their MPEG4 transition (actually w/ them for the past 13 years) and the PQ has been great. Sadly, will have to switch to Comcast soon for financial reasons.

Brian Conrad

08-26-09, 03:15 PM

You're saying some of the commercials are in SD, a resolution other than the native 1080i? That doesn't make much sense, but I suppose it's possible, I haven't noticed it, I zip through the commercials pretty fast.

I do too but sometimes if I linger just a second on an ad that is SD it will flip my set to that resolution. However if I were to just let the commercials play through the switch doesn't occur so the DVR must upscale it. I haven't seen this with any of the locals in HD but may try some recordings and analyze to see if there are any mixed streams but my bet is locals have nothing but HD streams and upvert any SD spots at the source.

keenan

08-26-09, 03:17 PM

Now, I understand that issues as the above go away with an on-demand or DVR recorded episode...is that correct? I really enjoy SyFy channel shows, but rarely watch as-broadcast. It's always off the DVR.

Anything you view from a DVR is actually recorded data being viewed from the HDD. Even when you're watching "live" TV, not "recording" anything, it's still coming from the HDD, it's what enables you to rewind, pause, etc.

If you're asking if the quality might get/be better if it wasn't a DVR feed, as in a non-DVR STB? That's possible, but I rather doubt it, the technology has reached a point where it's pretty much transparent.

keenan

08-26-09, 03:22 PM

I do too but sometimes if I linger just a second on an ad that is SD it will flip my set to that resolution. However if I were to just let the commercials play through the switch doesn't occur so the DVR must upscale it. I haven't seen this with any of the locals in HD but may try some recordings and analyze to see if there are any mixed streams but my bet is locals have nothing but HD streams and upvert any SD spots at the source.

That is weird, is it a Comcast DVR? Something is not right, as the signal you're seeing when you play it straight through is the same recorded data as when you skip through the commercials, there's no reason why it would be different.

mds54

08-26-09, 03:34 PM

It's the DCX 3400 (250 mB memory); there's a thread on it in the dvr section.

Do any of you gurus know how to find out if a local office (San Jose) has these DCX DVRs in stock? Unbelieveably, Comcast says I have to take my chances by walking into the office without even knowing. :mad:

MANNAXMAN

08-26-09, 03:34 PM

I am still not getting 802 or 803 in Sunnyvale. Chatted with Comcast agent, and they sent a hit to the cable cards. A couple of hours later, those channels still are MIA. Does anyone in Sunnyvale get these two stations?
If I remember to, I'll check when I get home. I think I'm not too far from you.

keenan

08-26-09, 03:39 PM

Why hasn't Comcast gone to Mpeg4? If the PQ is a bandwidth/compression issue, MPEG4 should help. I've been with DirecTV since their MPEG4 transition (actually w/ them for the past 13 years) and the PQ has been great. Sadly, will have to switch to Comcast soon for financial reasons.

They are, it's just going to be awhile. You have to remember that Comcast, in fact cable companies in general, pretty much sat on their hands while the satcos aggressively embraced HD and MPEG4 technology. This is one of the reasons why Comcast has had to play catch-up in the HD channels numbers race and why they're compromising PQ by 3-packing/additional compression.

You could say the satcos are a full generation ahead of cable in the video technology race. Comcast, with it's non-local and/or proprietary channels(CSNBA, etc), basically the bulk of the cablenet channels(Syfy, USA, HBO, etc), are now where DirecTV was years ago, compromising PQ to fit capacity. They've basically flip-flopped, cablenet PQ with DirecTV is very good, without question better than what I've seen with Comcast. I haven't seen every channel, but for all the majors, TNT, Syfy, USA, HBO, there's no doubt in my mind you'll get a better image from DirecTV.

Milenkod

08-26-09, 06:21 PM

.... there's no doubt in my mind you'll get a better image from DirecTV.and therein lies my fears. However, I may be able to look past the PQ in the savings I'll be making and the internet speeds I'll be gaining. it's a trade-off but a must, financially, until my wife's gets back to employment (whenever that might be).

Cal1981

08-26-09, 08:56 PM

I ran into a Comcast tech on my block today and asked him about the timelimes for digital conversion and the subsequent WOM roll out for Vallejo/Benicia. The cards that we received indicated a 9/1 date for conversion. He told me that at a staff meeting today, they wee told that the conversion would not happen until mid-September at the earliest and the additional channels would not roll out unitl sometimein October. I don't necessarily take this at face value but, Mikef5, do you have any way of gently checking on this. That's a longer time frame than we were hoping for.

wunderhund

08-26-09, 09:39 PM

Do any of you gurus know how to find out if a local office (San Jose) has these DCX DVRs in stock? Unbelieveably, Comcast says I have to take my chances by walking into the office without even knowing. :mad:

I have poked my head to inquire about the availability of the new DCX-series DVR's at my local San Francisco Comcast office -- the first couple of visits, the rep said to check back in a couple of days as they receive new receivers every other day. Today, the rep said that the Comcast warehouse did not have any DCX-DVR's available and that they didn't expect them for a month. Luckily for me the office is just a couple blocks away. They had one DCX-DVR on their 'return' rack and they had plenty of the new DCX3200 (non-DVR) receivers available.

If anyone stumbles upon a local office with DCX DVR's, please chime in.

Cheers.

clau

08-26-09, 09:48 PM

If I remember to, I'll check when I get home. I think I'm not too far from you.

I chatted with Comcast again, and this time they said that channels 802 and 803 are not available in my area (94087).

Mikef, can you check with Mr. J on why we are not getting those two HBO HD channels (Signature and HBOP2)? Thanks.

millerwill

08-26-09, 09:49 PM

I have poked my head to inquire about the availability of the new DCX-series DVR's at my local San Francisco Comcast office -- the first couple of visits, the rep said to check back in a couple of days as they receive new receivers every other day. Today, the rep said that the Comcast warehouse did not have any DCX-DVR's available and that they didn't expect them for a month. Luckily for me the office is just a couple blocks away. They had one DCX-DVR on their 'return' rack and they had plenty of the new DCX3200 (non-DVR) receivers available.

If anyone stumbles upon a local office with DCX DVR's, please chime in.

Cheers.

The El Cerrito store has had the DCX3400 for several weeks.

mazman49

08-26-09, 10:31 PM

Is my vision just getting worse, or is KNTV showing the Giants game in SD tonight (on Comcast)?

keenan

08-27-09, 12:07 AM

Is my vision just getting worse, or is KNTV showing the Giants game in SD tonight (on Comcast)?
The Giant's game is in SD.

The A's game looks like crap as well, another widescreen SD broadcast.

Mikef5

08-27-09, 01:15 AM

I chatted with Comcast again, and this time they said that channels 802 and 803 are not available in my area (94087).

Mikef, can you check with Mr. J on why we are not getting those two HBO HD channels (Signature and HBOP2)? Thanks.
I'll check with him and see what's up. I noticed on the flyer that was sent out those 2 channels were suppose to be added, really don't know why they weren't but I'll try and find out for you.

Laters,
Mikef5

Mikef5

08-27-09, 01:23 AM

The Giant's game is in SD.

The A's game looks like crap as well, another widescreen SD broadcast.

Damn, I missed the Giant's game :eek:.

I'm so torqued off at Comcast billing right now that I totally forgot all about the game today. They've jacked my bill up another $70 a month, They're charging me twice for my internet connection and they have me on the wrong package plus I can't get them to understand that. I can't believe I actually missed the game :(

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-27-09, 01:34 AM

I'll check with him and see what's up. I noticed on the flyer that was sent out those 2 channels were suppose to be added, really don't know why they weren't but I'll try and find out for you.

Laters,
Mikef5
Curious that those are the 2 channels I asked about earlier, they weren't on that first list you posted. Does anyone have those channels yet?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16931329&highlight=#post16931329

Mikef5

08-27-09, 01:46 AM

Curious that those are the 2 channels I asked about earlier, they weren't on that first list you posted. Does anyone have those channels yet?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16931329&highlight=#post16931329
You are right they weren't listed in the roll out post I posted but they are on the flyer that I got in the mail that lists all the channels that were going to be added and what the new channel numbers were going to be. Like I've said before no lists are written in stone so they can add or subtract from that list but I'll find out just the same.

Laters,
Mikef5

Xn0r

08-27-09, 01:51 AM

Are you receiving Channel 802 now? I am not getting it in 94087. It's not on the list published in the Comcast "World of More" announcement.
Nope. Both the Cable box and the Tivo skip from 801 to 805, and it can't be tuned.

keenan

08-27-09, 01:55 AM

You are right they weren't listed in the roll out post I posted but they are on the flyer that I got in the mail that lists all the channels that were going to be added and what the new channel numbers were going to be. Like I've said before no lists are written in stone so they can add or subtract from that list but I'll find out just the same.

Laters,
Mikef5

That flyer is suspect as well, to a degree, it lists Syfy as being in both Digital Starter and Digital Classic.

There also seems to be some confusion over whether it's HBO2E or HBO2P, the flyer says E but it was mentioned as P earlier.

Hopefully someone that has been upgraded will chime in that they actually have those channels, somebody has to have them by now right?

<edit>

That flyer that was posted earlier probably should not be trusted at all. In the top section where it shows "New HD Channels" it lists HBO-Comedy, Zone and Latino - 805, 807 and 808. In the bottom part of the flyer is where it lists HBO2 and Signature. My guess is that someone got carried away with adding the HBO lineup to that flyer and that the original lineup you posted back in July or early August is probably correct.

Isn't the NFL Network supposed to come out of the Sports Entertainment package as well? That flyer seems to have several inaccuracies.

stretch437

08-27-09, 02:04 AM

Sorry to hear about the giants in SD: I just got home from the ballpark and just had to say it looked pretty sharp in its "native" resolution. Pretty impressive aspect ratio too...

Mikef5

08-27-09, 02:07 AM

That flyer is suspect as well, to a degree, it lists Syfy as being in both Digital Starter and Digital Classic.

There also seems to be some confusion over whether it's HBO2E or HBO2P, the flyer says E but it was mentioned as P earlier.

Hopefully someone that has been upgraded will chime in that they actually have those channels, somebody has to have them by now right?

I don't know how far in advance the flyers are made out so things could change from the time they were made up and the actual time the channels are actually launched.

If I went by the flyer, Milpitas wouldn't get the new channels until the 27th of Aug, the roll out post for Milpitas from Mr. J. listed Milpitas getting the new channels on the 20th of Aug, we actually got the new channels on the 14th of Aug.... so sometimes things change and no I don't get channels 802 or 803 either and my area has been upgraded with the new channels. I would hazard a guess that they are not going to be added or will be added at a later date but to be sure I'll check with Mr. J.

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-27-09, 02:15 AM

I don't know how far in advance the flyers are made out so things could change from the time they were made up and the actual time the channels are actually launched.

If I went by the flyer, Milpitas wouldn't get the new channels until the 27th of Aug, the roll out post for Milpitas from Mr. J. listed Milpitas getting the new channels on the 20th of Aug, we actually got the new channels on the 14th of Aug.... so sometimes things change and no I don't get channels 802 or 803 either and my area has been upgraded with the new channels. I would hazard a guess that they are not going to be added or will be added at a later date but to be sure I'll check with Mr. J.

Laters,
Mikef5
That flyer appears to effective as of 8/10/09.

That's too bad about HBO2 and Signature, there's a series coming in Sept I wanted to see, but I guess I'll be out luck as far as seeing it in HD.

Xn0r

08-27-09, 02:21 AM

That flyer that was posted earlier probably should not be trusted at all. In the top section where it shows "New HD Channels" it lists HBO-Comedy, Zone and Latino - 805, 807 and 808. In the bottom part of the flyer is where it lists HBO2 and Signature. My guess is that someone got carried away with adding the HBO lineup to that flyer and that the original lineup you posted back in July or early August is probably correct.
This is the source of the flyer: http://comcastcalifornia.mediaroom.com/file.php/230/HD_Self-Mailer-860.pdf

From this page: http://comcastcalifornia.mediaroom.com/

keenan

08-27-09, 02:32 AM

This is the source of the flyer: http://comcastcalifornia.mediaroom.com/file.php/230/HD_Self-Mailer-860.pdf

From this page: http://comcastcalifornia.mediaroom.com/

Yes, it's not uncommon for printed material to be incorrect, heck, Comcast websites themselves can hardly be called the paragon of accuracy.

Were I a betting man, I would believe an actual press release over a printed flyer simply because the PR is out there as statement to the competition, "this is what we're doing", and should be as accurate as possible lest the competition make hay over claims that were not true. I wouldn't think those flyers would be mailed to the competition. :p

Maybe those channels will be available via OnDemand, I don't really know how Comcast's OnDemand works.

Here's a question, is anyone getting any channels other than what's listed in the press release?

51 NEW HIGH DEFINITION (HD) NETWORKS

Network New Channel #
------- -------------

WGN HD 717

QVC HD * 719

ESPN News HD 726

NBA TV HD 727

NHL Network HD 728

MLB Network HD 729

Speed HD * 731

CBS College Sports HD 732

Bravo HD * 733

TV One HD 740

FX HD * 741

Style Network HD 742

Spike HD 743

G4 HD 744

Comedy Central HD 745

E! HD * 753

Travel Channel HD * 755

Fox News Channel HD * 760

Fox Business Network HD * 761

CNBC HD * 762

Disney XD HD 763

Cartoon Network HD * 766

Nickelodeon HD 767

Planet Green HD 771

Biography Channel HD 772

The Weather Channel HD 776

BET HD 777

CMT HD 778

Fuse HD 779

VH1 HD 781

MTV HD 782

Outdoor Channel HD 784

MSNBC HD 787

IFC HD 790

WE HD 791

Hallmark Movie Channel HD * 794

Lifetime HD 795

Lifetime Movie Network HD 796

MGM HD 797

HBO Comedy HD 805

HBO Zone HD 807

HBO Latino HD 808

Encore HD * 809

Starz Edge HD 817

Starz Comedy HD 818

Starz Kids & Family HD 819

Showtime Too HD 826

Action MAX HD 840

Thriller MAX HD 841

TMC The Movie Channel HD 847

PPV Events HD 870

* Has already launched in Los Altos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Saratoga and
Sunnyvale

2 NEW STANDARD DEFINITION NETWORKS

Network New Channel #
------- -------------

Hallmark Movie Channel 500

Retirement Living TV * 205

* Has already launched in Los Altos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Saratoga and
Sunnyvale

14 NEW INTERNATIONAL PREMIUM NETWORKS
For programming information visit www.comcast.com/internationaltv

Network New Channel #
------- -------------

Setanta Sports (English/International) 300

TV Globo (Portuguese/Brazilian) 305

PFC 100% Futebol (Portuguese/Brazilian) 306

Band Internacional (Portuguese/Brazilian) 307

RTP (Portuguese) 310

Antenna One (Greek) 312

Deutsche Welle (German) 315

C1R (Russian) 325

STAR India NEWS (South Asian - Hindi) 341

STAR ONE (South Asian - Hindi) 342

STAR India GOLD (South Asian - Hindi) 343

Vijay (South Asian - Tamil) 349

MYX (English + Taglish) 368

GMA Life (English + Tagalog) 370

13 NEW SPANISH LANGUAGE NETWORKS

Network New Channel #
------- -------------

AYM Sports (sports) 626

Multimedios (news) 632

SUR Mexico (news) 641

Latele Novela (soap operas) 645

Utilisima (women) 646

TeleHit (music/entertainment) 653

Ritmoson Latino (music/entertainment) 654

Teleritmo (music/entertainment) 655

Bandamax (music/entertainment) 656

TBN Enlace (religious) 658

EWTN En Espanol (religious) 659

De Pelicula (movies) 664

De Pelicula Clasico (movies) 665

29 CHANNEL CHANGES

Network Old Channel # New Channel #
------- ------------- -------------

TV5Monde (French) 252 317

Raitalia (Italian) 254 319

RTN (Russian) 255 324

TV Japan (Japanese) 245 330

SBTN (Vietnamese) 248 331

tvK (Korean) 263 332

Zee TV (South Asian) 246 336

TV Asia (South Asian) 247 337

SET Asia (SONY) (South Asian) 249 338

STAR India PLUS (South Asian) 250 340

CTI-Zhong Tian Channel (Chinese/Mandarin) 243 354

CCTV-4 (Chinese/Mandarin) 244 355

Phoenix Info News (Mandarin/Dragon Pack) 257 356

Phoenix North America
(Mandarin/Dragon Pack) 258 357

ETTV-Super Channel
(Mandarin/Dragon Pack) 256 358

Jade (Chinese/Cantonese) 262 360

The Filipino Channel (Filipino) 241 367

GMA Pinoy TV (Filipino) 242 369

Playboy en Espanol (Spanish) 613 676

ABC Family HD 764 768

Disney Channel HD 765 769

Palladia HD 743 783

Hallmark Movie Channel HD 749 794

AMC HD 769 798

HBO HD 770 801

Encore HD 775 809

Starz HD 780 816

Showtime HD 785 825

Cinemax HD 792 838

http://comcastcalifornia.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=292

Mikef5

08-27-09, 02:32 AM

That flyer appears to effective as of 8/10/09.

That's too bad about HBO2 and Signature, there's a series coming in Sept I wanted to see, but I guess I'll be out luck as far as seeing it in HD.

Jim,

I'm not talking about that flyer or the flyer on the Comcast site. I got a flyer in the mail specifically for Milpitas that listed when the new channels would be added to Milpitas and when the new channel lineup would begin.
"New HD channels available 8/27/09. New channel numbers beginning August 17, 2009."

The pdf on the Comcast website is a general lineup and not for a specific area and of course all of them are subject to change.

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-27-09, 02:37 AM

Jim,

I'm not talking about that flyer or the flyer on the Comcast site. I got a flyer in the mail specifically for Milpitas that listed when the new channels would be added to Milpitas and when the new channel lineup would begin.
"New HD channels available 8/27/09. New channel numbers beginning August 17, 2009."

The pdf on the Comcast website is a general lineup and not for a specific area and of course all of them are subject to change.

Laters,
Mikef5
Understood.

See my last post, are you getting any channels that aren't in that list?

Mikef5

08-27-09, 02:40 AM

Understood.

See my last post, are you getting any channels that aren't in that list?

No, I get everything that was on that list, except the Tivo guide data is still screwed up.

Laters,
Mikef5

Xn0r

08-27-09, 02:41 AM

@keenan: that list, on quick glance, matches what I receive better than the flyer.

keenan

08-27-09, 03:57 AM

No, I get everything that was on that list, except the Tivo guide data is still screwed up.

Laters,
Mikef5

@keenan: that list, on quick glance, matches what I receive better than the flyer.

That's what I figured, I'll bet the original PR(Mikef5's posting) is the accurate listing and the flyer is, well, not accurate, meaning no HBO2 or HBO Signature among possible others .

abg

08-27-09, 12:00 PM

As of last night Comcast had not added any new HD channels in my neighborhood (94022 part of LAH) but for kicks I decided to look at the channels on silicondust.com to see if I need to update any channel listings for our kitchen TV (QAM tuner; no DTA). Previously, I would find 1 network for OTA digital and 5-6 listings for Comcast Cable. Today, in addition to the OTA digital, there are 3 "Digital cable" networks and 15 "Comcast Cable" networks. What the heck?:confused:

Hopefully, things will be back to "normal" soon. In the meantime, the existing channels we've been using still work so it doesn't really matter, I s'pose.

Anyone got a link to a book or website that explains some basic theory on how to lay out a network for cable TV? I just can't imagine someone creating such a complex situation unless they really had to.

Alan

Mikef5

08-27-09, 12:57 PM

That's what I figured, I'll bet the original PR(Mikef5's posting) is the accurate listing and the flyer is, well, not accurate, meaning no HBO2 or HBO Signature among possible others .

Jim,

You are probably right about the flyer, it's made out in advance and probably is inaccurate but here's the rub. This flyer goes to all Comcast customers through "snail mail" and that to most people is what they expect Comcast is going to do since it's coming directly from Comcast. Very few people read or pay attention to newspaper articles about cable roll outs. Most people read the main articles, sports section or my favorite area, the comics and crossword puzzle :p.

So what does the average cable customer do ( and I don't consider the people in this forum to be average customers ) ?
He reads the flyer from Comcast and thinks these are the channels he is suppose to get and even if he did read the news article about the roll out does he try to correlate the information from the flyer to the news article ? Probably not, he just goes by what the flyer says that he got from Comcast.

I think we've beat this dead horse enough and I'll ask Mr. J. what the real scoop is. I think my billing problem with Comcast has been taken care of so I can do other things now. At least the Giants won last night even though I missed the game :( ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-27-09, 01:12 PM

Jim,

You are probably right about the flyer, it's made out in advance and probably is inaccurate but here's the rub. This flyer goes to all Comcast customers through "snail mail" and that to most people is what they expect Comcast is going to do since it's coming directly from Comcast. Very few people read or pay attention to newspaper articles about cable roll outs. Most people read the main articles, sports section or my favorite area, the comics and crossword puzzle :p.

So what does the average cable customer do ( and I don't consider the people in this forum to be average customers ) ?
He reads the flyer from Comcast and thinks these are the channels he is suppose to get and even if he did read the news article about the roll out does he try to correlate the information from the flyer to the news article ? Probably not, he just goes by what the flyer says that he got from Comcast.

I think we've beat this dead horse enough and I'll ask Mr. J. what the real scoop is. I think my billing problem with Comcast has been taken care of so I can do other things now. At least the Giants won last night even though I missed the game :( ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

In my experience, press releases do end up in newspapers and news websites, but typically they're aimed at trade sites like Multichannelnews, Light Reading, Cable Digital News, etc. places where the competitor will see it. I'm sure somewhere in the small print it says that any or all of the above may not be accurate, but in most cases PRs generally are very accurate.

Flyers and lineup cards on the other hand are really nothing more than advertisements and really have no "responsibility" to be accurate.

I don't think we're beating a dead horse, I'm just curious to see if my guesswork is correct, if it is, I can buy myself a beer. :D

While the game looked like a bad broadcast from FOX earlier in the decade, the bottom of the eighth was exciting... You guys really need to get moving to grab that wild card spot. :)

clau

08-27-09, 01:33 PM

I'll check with him and see what's up. I noticed on the flyer that was sent out those 2 channels were suppose to be added, really don't know why they weren't but I'll try and find out for you.

Laters,
Mikef5

Are you getting 802 and 803 in Milpitas?

Edit: sorry, I just read that you are not getting those channels.

clau

08-27-09, 01:41 PM

That flyer appears to effective as of 8/10/09.

That's too bad about HBO2 and Signature, there's a series coming in Sept I wanted to see, but I guess I'll be out luck as far as seeing it in HD.

I had 3 chat sessions with Comcast yesterday. The first two times, the rep said that those two channels were available in my area, and that they would send a hit to my cablecards, and everything would be fine. Of course, that did not work. The third time, the rep (a different one) told me that those two channels are not available regardless of packages. He also said that he would forward this issue to the people in engineering.

So my guess is that even within Comcast, there are two different lists. I hope that we could get those 2 channels soon.

Mikef5

08-27-09, 01:55 PM

In my experience, press releases do end up in newspapers and news websites, but typically they're aimed at trade sites like Multichannelnews, Light Reading, Cable Digital News, etc. places where the competitor will see it. I'm sure somewhere in the small print it says that any or all of the above may not be accurate, but in most cases PRs generally are very accurate.

Flyers and lineup cards on the other hand are really nothing more than advertisements and really have no "responsibility" to be accurate.

I don't think we're beating a dead horse, I'm just curious to see if my guesswork is correct, if it is, I can buy myself a beer. :D

While the game looked like a bad broadcast from FOX earlier in the decade, the bottom of the eighth was exciting... You guys really need to get moving to grab that wild card spot. :)

Jim,

Of course flyers need to be and should be required to be accurate or why put them out. That would reflect poorly on the veracity of that company, to knowingly put out bad or false information. OK, I know most companies play fast and loose with facts but that doesn't make it right. ;)

The average customer doesn't go to these tech sites like you and I and most of the people of this forum do. I'm not worried about the people in this forum, they're tech savvy and know what's what with announcements and BS advertising but Joe Six Pack doesn't he just reads his mail and either believes it or tosses it in the trash but I believe all information that's given out to the general public needs to be as accurate as possible and that includes these throw away flyers.

As far as the Giants, I think if they make the playoffs we should have a get together at the ballpark and drink lots of beer there :D Of course we'll need a designated driver so I vote for Keenan to be that sober driver :eek:;)

Laters,
Mikef5

bobby94928

08-27-09, 02:38 PM

As far as the Giants, I think if they make the playoffs we should have a get together at the ballpark and drink lots of beer there :D Of course we'll need a designated driver so I vote for Keenan to be that sober driver :eek:;)

Laters,
Mikef5

I could go for that. Jim can pick me up on the way by. He and I will root for the Dodgers! :) Lots of beer can get a bit expensive though at $8.75 a pop.

http://www.steadyburn.net/2009/08/san-francisco-giants-have-the-most-expensive-beer-in-the-league-according-to-this-sketchy-report/

keenan

08-27-09, 03:16 PM

Jim,

Of course flyers need to be and should be required to be accurate or why put them out. That would reflect poorly on the veracity of that company, to knowingly put out bad or false information. OK, I know most companies play fast and loose with facts but that doesn't make it right. ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

See clau's post right above yours, the printing and veracity of flyers is really no different than people within the company having 2 or more versions of the facts or lineups. Sorry, could help it! :p

I'm not arguing with you, but when it comes to Comcast I've learned that until I see it on my screen, it doesn't really matter what they say or print/mail to me. :)

keenan

08-27-09, 03:17 PM

I could go for that. Jim can pick me up on the way by. He and I will root for the Dodgers! :) Lots of beer can get a bit expensive though at $8.75 a pop.

http://www.steadyburn.net/2009/08/san-francisco-giants-have-the-most-expensive-beer-in-the-league-according-to-this-sketchy-report/

Works for me, although we'll have to bring a bunch of crying towels for Mike! :p:D

MANNAXMAN

08-27-09, 03:19 PM

keenan

08-27-09, 03:21 PM

I had 3 chat sessions with Comcast yesterday. The first two times, the rep said that those two channels were available in my area, and that they would send a hit to my cablecards, and everything would be fine. Of course, that did not work. The third time, the rep (a different one) told me that those two channels are not available regardless of packages. He also said that he would forward this issue to the people in engineering.

So my guess is that even within Comcast, there are two different lists. I hope that we could get those 2 channels soon.
Indeed, in a lot of cases it's purely luck that you get an accurate answer from a Comcast customer service rep. It's not really their fault either, it's a company that's too "frugal" to spend the money to pay and train them. Thing is, there's not enough people complaining about customer service for them to bother with fixing it. If it's not adversely affecting the bottom line, who cares? Trust me, if Comcast started to lose significant revenue because of shoddy customer service, they would fix it fast.

Mikef5

08-27-09, 04:00 PM

Works for me, although we'll have to bring a bunch of crying towels for Mike! :p:D

That would be for crying for joy when the Dodgers lose ??? :p;)

I just want a California team to make it to the World Series and I'm sorry to say it probably won't be the Giant's this year but if the Dodgers do make it I'll be cheering them on. Anything would be better than seeing the Yankee's going again and again and..... Yankee's the best team money can buy !

Laters,
Mikef5

walk

08-27-09, 07:03 PM

The game on 11 last night looked pretty good for SD at least.

And the good beer at AT&T is $9.75 ea. :eek:

Dbower

08-27-09, 09:06 PM

Ok - for me here in Larkfield (unincorporated between Santa Rosa and Windsor), I found the addition of about 37 (yep, 37!) HD channels this afternoon. I jotted down what I recall are the new ones - so this list may have an error or two and I'm not sure if any of the new sports channels require a subscription. But here's what I think are the new channels:

LIVWL - never heard of it
WGNHD
QVCHD - great, home shopping in HD. What a waste.
ESWHD ESPN news
NBAHD
NHCHD
MCBHD
SPBHD
CBSCH
BRVOD
CMTHD
BIOHD
TWCHD
TVONE - never head of this one
FXHD
STYLE
SPKHD - Spike TV
G4HD
CMDYD
E!HD
FNCHD
FBNHD
CNBCD
DXDHD
TOOND
NICHD
GRNHD - never heard of this one
FUSED
MGMHD
LMNHD
LIFED
HALLD
WEHD
IFCHD
MNBCD
PLDHD
OUTHD

Not sure the content of some of these new channels, so it could be a large waste of bandwidth. But we'll see.

-Dave

on edit: Of course I can't let this go without restating the comments of others here. A huge increase in HD channels, yet no notification of any kind - no email, no billing insert, no messages, nothing. And no information on the types of channels these are, as the 5 letter acronym isn't very helpful.

A casual viewer could miss these new additions for weeks before realizing there's new stuff there. Comcast's arguments don't wash - they have my email address (they send me statements there every month!), they have my billing address, and it's a sure bet the DVR knows which head end it's connecting to and who the DVR is assigned to.

Comcast: You really must improve customer communications!

Rant over.

Xn0r

08-27-09, 09:27 PM

Heh I was confused for a bit when people were talking about "Jim". I guess Keenan's name is Jim also? :confused:

keenan

08-27-09, 09:39 PM

Heh I was confused for a bit when people were talking about "Jim". I guess Keenan's name is Jim also? :confused:

Yup!

Xn0r

08-27-09, 09:46 PM

OK figured as much. Doesn't help that my real first name is Jim also. :P

bobby94928

08-27-09, 10:44 PM

Those of us who have been around for some time know that Keenan's name is Jim....

stretch437

08-27-09, 11:36 PM

21000 posts qualifies for "first name basis" if you ask me

@dbower:
LIVWL happens to be something KGO is broadcasting OTA and i suppose this forces comcast to carry it.

it would be neat if comcast could give us that feed at a higher bitrate- i know that KGO's OTA version of LIVWL is somehow 720p even though theoretically you should not be attempting two HD channels in the same 6MHz OTA channel if you want your viewers to have any picture quality at all.

i know when i watch this channel OTA it looks like hell.

taking a look right now, it looks pretty bad on comcast as well, so either LIVWL comes from its creator-in-the-sky already looking like junk or comcast is just retransmitting whatever bit-starved signal KGO is giving them.

fender4645

08-28-09, 12:16 AM

Those of us who have been around for some time know that Keenan's name is Jim....

But that's only because he's famous: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/05/20/BUG5MCS2GL1.DTL :D

keenan

08-28-09, 12:19 AM

But that's only because he's famous: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/05/20/BUG5MCS2GL1.DTL :D

Wow, that's old, I'd forgotten all about that article. :D

MKANET

08-28-09, 08:52 AM

MikeSM

08-28-09, 10:00 AM

zeldor

08-28-09, 11:42 AM

Fogive me if this has been discussed before. I just ordered Comcast's Extreme speed. I realize they have the same 250 cap as they did on slower speed. I dont think paying double for no cap is worth it for me.

I want to know if there's still that other stupid cap to purposefully slow down my Internet download/upload speed after a certain # of minutes of full speed on the extreme package as well. Just how many minutes should we expect at full speed for Extreme. Also, does the business Extreme not have this cap either?

business at any speed has no caps. I did notice that if I maxed out upstream
for any length of time it would start slowing down. so I capped myself at ~75%
up max and never had a problem since. downstream can be maxed out for years
on end and no issues.
as for your residential questions I have no idea.

MKANET

08-28-09, 12:16 PM

Are you talking about business or residential? If it's business, that's pretty lame. I mostly use my Internet for upstream (ie streaming TV, FTP, HTTP, webcam, etc...) If I'm going to pay $199 a month for Extreme speed, it had better be at 10mbit upstream. It seems to me that business upstream is no different than residential.

I also have the same problem where I need to cap my upstream speed to about 75% of my full speed or it will start getting slower immediate after the upstream starts.

Can anyone confirm for sure that the Business upstream is no different than residential... other than not having the 250GB total maximum? I am very curious on about business Extreme (upload) performance.

I depend on people's information here since asking Comcast CSR's would be a waste of time.

..I did notice that if I maxed out upstream
for any length of time it would start slowing down. so I capped myself at ~75%
up max and never had a problem since. downstream can be maxed out for years
on end and no issues.
as for your residential questions I have no idea.

adn1107

08-28-09, 12:49 PM

zeldor

08-28-09, 01:01 PM

I should put out that my self imposed 75% limit was started a long time ago and
I havent checked recently on the non extreme. so it may have been something
comcast was doing.

But I have (business) extreme now and I just did a test and its currently transferred
300M upstream and no slowdowns seen its still ~7mbps. I have never
been able to get full rate in either direction with just a single stream.
but I have gotten 10mbps up with a couple of streams. and ~55mbps
down with a few streams.

up transfer is still going and its up another 100M and no slowdowns.
so at least if there is a upstream slowdown its after a lot of upstream traffic.

Are you talking about business or residential? If it's business, that's pretty lame. I mostly use my Internet for upstream (ie streaming TV, FTP, HTTP, webcam, etc...) If I'm going to pay $199 a month for Extreme speed, it had better be at 10mbit upstream. It seems to me that business upstream is no different than residential.

I also have the same problem where I need to cap my upstream speed to about 75% of my full speed or it will start getting slower immediate after the upstream starts.

Can anyone confirm for sure that the Business upstream is no different than residential... other than not having the 250GB total maximum? I am very curious on about business Extreme (upload) performance.

I depend on people's information here since asking Comcast CSR's would be a waste of time.

Mikef5

08-28-09, 01:21 PM

I live in South San Jose, Evergreen area (95148)... I got a flyer in the mail 2 weeks ago saying that analog cable customers need to order the DTA by August 28th to avoid losing channels. I take that as indication that the new lineup will be available today, but i don't see nothing yet. I have Tivo HD box with M-card. Do I have to run Tivo Guided Setup again to look for new channels or Tivo will pick them up automatically??
Bad assumption. That only means that on the 28th they are going to start moving some of the analog channels to digital. Once that is completed and the bandwidth has been reclaimed they then will add your area to the roll out schedule to have those new HD channels added. When will that happen ? I don't know and even if I did I couldn't say until I'm given permission to post that, but there will be a new roll out schedule some time after Labor Day.

At least it seems parts of San Jose are getting closer. San Jose is a very big city and has lots of nodes in it so it will take a while to get it done. I know that's little comfort but it's better than nothing. ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

adn1107

08-28-09, 02:10 PM

Bad assumption. That only means that on the 28th they are going to start moving some of the analog channels to digital. Once that is completed and the bandwidth has been reclaimed they then will add your area to the roll out schedule to have those new HD channels added. When will that happen ? I don't know and even if I did I couldn't say until I'm given permission to post that, but there will be a new roll out schedule some time after Labor Day.

At least it seems parts of San Jose are getting closer. San Jose is a very big city and has lots of nodes in it so it will take a while to get it done. I know that's little comfort but it's better than nothing. ;)

Laters,
Mikef5
Thanks Mike. I think my area will one of the first in SJ to get the new HD channels when they get rolled out. Right now, I already have this "Los Altos, Milpitas, Saratoga and Sunnyvale have already launched 12 of the HD networks and Retirement Living TV, so those cities will be receiving 67 new networks" even though I am in SJ... So I am waiting for the rest, hopefully after Labor Day as you said!

Mikef5

08-28-09, 02:28 PM

Just a quick update on the missing channels 802 and 803.

There seems to be a contract snafu that needs to be looked into ( lawyer stuff ), once that is resolved these channels could be added at a later date. So the flyer was sort of right but the official announcement ( the one released to the newspapers and such ) is correct and the one to go by. I'll let you know if things change. ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-28-09, 02:31 PM

keenan

08-28-09, 02:32 PM

gfbuchanan

08-28-09, 04:02 PM

Part of the reason you might see slow downs when running full speed has to do with the protocols. Both the up and down streams need to send protocol acknowledgments as they receive data. If you saturate the uplink with data traffic, the acks for the downloaded data get queued behind the uplink data and the download side may go dormant until the acks get sent. So if you want maximum throughput, you have to allow some bandwidth for the protocol packets.

Greg

walk

08-28-09, 04:40 PM

Yeah that's normal, I always leave 10-15% headroom in the upload pipe. It means I can do basic web & email too.

Xn0r

08-28-09, 06:13 PM

@zeldor: does business include static IPs? If so, how many do you get?

I was looking at the web site and it looked like they wanted $20/m extra for each static IP!

I have DSL now, and my service has 6MB/s down, 768kbits/s up, 8 static IPs for about $50/month. I need the statics 'cause I run a bunch of stuff that requires separate IPs (DNS servers, etc).

walk

08-28-09, 06:43 PM

The basic business class doesn't include static IPs I don't think.
We had that $99 bundle (ip/phone/tv) it just had a standard router with dynamic IPs. It was shipped configured to expire the DHCP every 45 minutes too... lol horrible, even after fixing that we lost the connection every 2-3 hours or so, we had to get rid of it and go back to DSL...

MKANET

08-29-09, 12:50 PM

Mikef5

08-29-09, 01:10 PM

I just upgraded to the 50 Extreme speed. However, the real speed is 34mbit down/4.1 up max. It's reliably & stable speed at 30 down/ 3.5 up.

This isn't even close to what I got. I am doing my tests against a gigantic news server with 16 connections at a time (to get every drop of bandwidth available).

You do realize that there are other facts that will affect your speeds ? Just doing 16 connections to a marginal server is not a good test of speed. I have Ultra and get a solid 30 Mbs down and 10 Mbs up almost anywhere this side of the Rockies, the further east I go the greater the speed drops off. The news server that I use I can max my connection with 3 connections.

Try this site and do some better testing and see how the speed varies depending on location and latency ....
http://www.speedtest.net/

Laters,
Mikef5

walk

08-29-09, 01:29 PM

http://penny-arcade.smugmug.com/photos/528499984_smvzj-L-2.jpg

Mikef5

08-29-09, 01:39 PM

http://penny-arcade.smugmug.com/photos/528499984_smvzj-L-2.jpg

As humorous as that is, the fact is there is no internet provider that will guarantee that you will get the max speed they are selling to you, they all will put the disclaimer in there " up to X speed " . If you know of one let me know who it is.

Laters,
Mikef5

MKANET

08-29-09, 02:05 PM

I'm not new comcast HSI. I've had blast since it came out. My test results were always consistent and reflected the speed that I was signed up for (I used to get 16 down/ 2 up). Now, with the same equipment, same software, its rock solid.. at a slower speed for up and down. Im signed up for 16 connections on my news server. Online simulated testing sites (speakeasy, etc) yield inconsistent results; and always have.

You do realize that there are other facts that will affect your speeds ? Just doing 16 connections to a marginal server is not a good test of speed. I have Ultra and get a solid 30 Mbs down and 10 Mbs up almost anywhere this side of the Rockies, the further east I go the greater the speed drops off. The news server that I use I can max my connection with 3 connections.

Try this site and do some better testing and see how the speed varies depending on location and latency ....
http://www.speedtest.net/

Laters,
Mikef5

Mikef5

08-29-09, 02:09 PM

MikeSM

08-29-09, 02:31 PM

I just upgraded to the 50 Extreme speed. However, the real speed is 34mbit down/4.1 up max. It's reliably & stable speed at 30 down/ 3.5 up.

This isn't even close to what I got. I am doing my tests against a gigantic news server with 16 connections at a time (to get every drop of bandwidth available).

What OS are you running? To really get that kind of downstream speed on the WAN, you may need to tweak the TCP configuration of the system. Try enable RSS and RFC window size options.

Upstream is a different case. I would be shocked if you could get reliable 10 Mbps service, TCP tweaks and such included. Is your upstream running at 64 QAM or 16 QAM?

Mikef5

08-29-09, 02:31 PM

I'm not new comcast HSI. Now, with the same equipment, same software, its rock solid.. at a slower speed for up and down.

If this is true, then that is your problem. You are using the same equipment as when you had 16 Mbs down. You need a Docsis 3.0 modem to use the Ultra Package and above. If you don't have at least the Motorola SB6120 you'll never get the speed you're signed up for.

Laters,
Mikef5

MikeSM

08-29-09, 02:40 PM

If this is true, then that is your problem. You are using the same equipment as when you had 16 Mbs down. You need a Docsis 3.0 modem to use the Ultra Package and above. If you don't have at least the Motorola SB6120 you'll never get the speed you're signed up for.

Laters,
Mikef5

I missed that. You are of course completely right. Not only do you not get channel bonding with the DOCSIS 2.0 modem, you won't be allocated basically new and mostly idle carriers.

Still, I am pretty sure Comcast won't let you upgrade service in that tier without going to a DOCSIS 3 modem, so this may not be his problem.

Mikef5

08-29-09, 02:49 PM

I missed that. You are of course completely right. Not only do you not get channel bonding with the DOCSIS 2.0 modem, you won't be allocated basically new and mostly idle carriers.

Still, I am pretty sure Comcast won't let you upgrade service in that tier without going to a DOCSIS 3 modem, so this may not be his problem.

They do not allow for self installs for DOCSIS 3 modems, so he would have to have known the modem was switched out since they have to do a truck roll and have a tech do the install. What I think he may have done was sign up on line and he assume that his modem was all he needed but the DOCSIS 3 modem should've been shipped to him or a truck roll should've been made, either way a tech has to do the install.

Laters,
Mikef5

MKANET

08-29-09, 02:51 PM

This issue isn't related to which computer I use or which OS; as they produce the same results; even when hooked up directly tot he modem.

Modem Ambit series DOCSIS 3.0

http://ambitbroadband.com/60740eu.datasheet.pdf

In an attempt to fix the problem the HSI support person somehow got my modem below blast speed now. <16mbps.

Can someone with an "Extreme" speed configuration tell me what config file was sent to their modem? Mine is: d11_m_u10c035_silver_c01.cm

EDIT: My modem shows a "Max Traffic Rate : 6600000 bps" instead of "55000000" in the Operation Config menu from the modem's management tool. This is definitely wrong.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h283/mkanet/config.jpg

:rolleyes: Now I remember why I dread calling comcast support. Time to call them back...

What modem are you using now ?? Name of modem, model number...
I use an ARRIS TM702G

Laters,
Mikef5

Mikef5

08-29-09, 03:04 PM

This issue isn't related to which computer I use or which OS; as they produce the same results; even when hooked up directly tot he modem.

Modem Ambit series DOCSIS 3.0

http://ambitbroadband.com/60740eu.datasheet.pdf

In an attempt to fix the problem the HSI support person somehow got my modem below blast speed now. <16mbps.

Can someone with an "Extreme" speed configuration tell me what config file was sent to their modem? Mine is: d11_m_u10c035_silver_c01.cm

EDIT: My modem shows a "Max Traffic Rate : 6600000 bps" instead of "55000000" in the Operation Config menu from the modem's management tool. This is definitely wrong.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h283/mkanet/config.jpg

:rolleyes: Now I remember why I dread calling comcast support. Time to call them back...

The link you provided links to a site called Ubee and not to a data sheet for Ambit.

Laters,
Mikef5

MKANET

08-29-09, 03:10 PM

Look at the original link that it's forwarded from...

The link you provided links to a site called Ubee and not to a data sheet for Ambit.

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-29-09, 03:11 PM

The link you provided links to a site called Ubee and not to a data sheet for Ambit.

Laters,
Mikef5

Ubee is Ambit

Is this the modem they're using?
http://www.ubeeinteractive.com/data-sheet/new/U10CO35_DataSheet.pdf

Mikef5

08-29-09, 03:23 PM

MKANET,

Who installed that modem ? Is this is the same modem you've been using all along ? If so, it hasn't been provisioned correctly for the new speeds. You need a tech to do the install and have it provisioned correctly in their data base. If they don't do the install it will not work right, I went through this when I signed up for Ultra. The last I heard, you can not do the install yourself, a tech has to do it even if it's your own DOCSIS 3 modem.

Laters,
Mikef5

Mikef5

08-29-09, 03:25 PM

Ubee is Ambit

Is this the modem they're using?
http://www.ubeeinteractive.com/data-sheet/new/U10CO35_DataSheet.pdf

I've already went to their site, that's why I asked for the model number.

Laters,
Mikef5

MKANET

08-29-09, 03:47 PM

Okay, I got them to replace the configuration file with the correct one "widebandblast" which changes the max speeds. (http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h283/mkanet/Screenshot-0755.jpg)

It looks like the problem is that Comcast Extreme speed is less close to the advertised speeds as the slower speeds (such as Blast). The support tech told me that it's normal to get 40mbps down and 5-6 up (for very compressed binary files. As long as I know this is normal, I guess Im okay with it. This is the speeds I'm getting on all my machines.

Thanks for you helps guys! It's nice to know when I need help; even on a saturday, there are friends helping out. I appreciate it.

-Michael

Mikef5

08-29-09, 03:57 PM

keenan

08-29-09, 04:17 PM

zeldor

08-29-09, 06:03 PM

zeldor

08-29-09, 06:06 PM

I just upgraded to the 50 Extreme speed. However, the real speed is 34mbit down/4.1 up max. It's reliably & stable speed at 30 down/ 3.5 up.

This isn't even close to what I got. I am doing my tests against a gigantic news server with 16 connections at a time (to get every drop of bandwidth available).

it will also depend a lot on the quality of the wiring to and in your house.
when I first had it installed I was getting drop outs all the time.
comcast came out and cleaned up the junction box on their end and
pointed out things I could do on my end and now I get much better
reliability and speed. the 50 is multiplexed across 4 normal internet
freqs so if its not real clean it shows.

for normal stuff I dont get 50/10 either (the 34/4.1 doesnt sound bad)
to get the full I need to crank up all 20 connections to my usenet server

MKANET

08-29-09, 07:57 PM

Hmm... I think that setting is defined in the config file for Extreme. Is there a way to change it?

I'm curious about that entry for Scheduling Type. In Comcast network management lingo, "Best Effort" is a secondary, or slower speed than "Priority Best Effort".

Xn0r

08-29-09, 08:08 PM

Another update today:

Added:
623 KVIEDT3
778 CMTVHD
816 STZHDP
825 SHOWHDP

So they fixed Starz and Showtime HD. They also added KVIEDT3, but I don't get that channel. Country Music HD also appears to be fixed, but not something I regularly watch.

They still haven't fixed ABC family HD (768), Disney HD(769), Showtime Too HD (826), and TMC HD (847). I submitted those back on the 22nd. Hopefully they didn't blow them off.

I may submit these still broken ones directly to Zap2it. Amazing to me that they're taking soooo long to fix this stuff. Really poor show by Tivo/Tribune.

hiker

08-29-09, 08:23 PM

An interesting read for HTPC users:
An End To Unencrypted Digital Cable TV and the HTPC? (http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=637)

And check out this 6 tuner cable TV HTPC card:
Ceton Multi-Channel Cable TV Card (http://www.cetoncorp.com/ProductsWMC.php)

oldskoolboarder

08-30-09, 02:42 AM

I just noticed that Menlo Park Comcast has channels from 702 to 798 now. And almost every channel is full. I noticed G4TV, IFC, BET, Comedy Central, bunch of Disneys, more ESPN, etc. I am IMPRESSED.

Unfortunately, I don't think the Tivo guide is updated because the Season Pass can't catch it all just yet.

Brian Conrad

08-30-09, 12:50 PM

keenan

08-30-09, 01:14 PM

On this resolution change thing, watching my recording of SyFy's "Eureka" last night I caught the resolution change from HD to SD on my HD RPTV as I did 30 second skip so I backed up and just ran that break of commercials and the SD local inserts did indeed change the resolution. So far I've only seen this on Syfy, not on FX nor USA. And I don't recall it happening until recently. I would have thought the SD commercials would have been upscaled to HD. Of course on the majority of displays which are LCD no one would see this as an LCD upscales everything.

I knew I should have kept that episode as it had a fair amount artifacting in it, but I figured it's pretty much a given by now that whatever Comcast is doing to the Syfy signal it results in a crappy picture - didn't think to check for this SD/HD thing.

Does this happen on other Syfy programs?

Xn0r

08-30-09, 01:40 PM

I knew I should have kept that episode as it had a fair amount artifacting in it, but I figured it's pretty much a given by now that whatever Comcast is doing to the Syfy signal it results in a crappy picture - didn't think to check for this SD/HD thing.

Does this happen on other Syfy programs?

The PQ of Warehouse 13 has been terrible. Especially if I pause it on the Tivo. You see MPEG blocks, etc. They're definitely cheating the bandwidth for SyFy. It'd be nice if they were more active about tuning it for certain programs. The popular programs, like Warehouse 13, Eureka etc should get more bit rate. Alien Infestation 8, not so much.

Does Comcast have the capability to adjust bandwidth dynamically? It'd be nice. Then they could give more to popular shows, and give a bit less to the latest Ron Popeil epic. :)

It'll be really annoying when SG-U, Caprica and Sanctuary start up.

Mikef5

08-30-09, 01:45 PM

On this resolution change thing, watching my recording of SyFy's "Eureka" last night I caught the resolution change from HD to SD on my HD RPTV as I did 30 second skip so I backed up and just ran that break of commercials and the SD local inserts did indeed change the resolution. So far I've only seen this on Syfy, not on FX nor USA. And I don't recall it happening until recently. I would have thought the SD commercials would have been upscaled to HD. Of course on the majority of displays which are LCD no one would see this as an LCD upscales everything.
What tv do you have ? What box are you using ? It would help to have a little more info on your setup to help diagnosis your problem.

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-30-09, 01:55 PM

The PQ of Warehouse 13 has been terrible. Especially if I pause it on the Tivo. You see MPEG blocks, etc. They're definitely cheating the bandwidth for SyFy. It's be nice if they were more active about tuning it for certain programs. The popular programs, like Warehouse 13, Eureka etc should get more bit rate. Alien Infestation 8, not so much.

It'll be really annoying when SG-U, Caprica and Sanctuary start up.

Yes, I've seen that during pauses as well, if the pause is giving us a still image of the quality of the data being sent, then it's really pretty bad.

The artifcating is "ugly", although I'm not sure how to explain that, instead of just some blockiness on the screen, it's an active mess of colored blocks/pixels/sparklies that moves across the screen as it usually only happens when there's fast motion.

Maybe Comcast should consider moving it to a frequency block that has two 720p channels as I think Syfy is packed with two other 1080i channels. It seems very clear that given the material on Syfy, very fast motion on a lot of their content, that giving the channel a bit more bandwidth would be wise. I'm not holding my breath that will ever happen though, if the masses are happy...

I'm seriously considering boosting my programing back up with DirecTV when those shows start up on Syfy. The PQ on DIRECTV is unquestionably better, but it will cost me money whereas with my Comcast situation all these HD channels beyond the locals are virtually free because of the combined promos I'm on.

Brian Conrad

08-30-09, 02:50 PM

What tv do you have ? What box are you using ? It would help to have a little more info on your setup to help diagnosis your problem.

Laters,
Mikef5

It's not really a problem but an observation. I know the technology fairly well and am just thinking they are inserting a 480i stream on the HD channel when they go to local inserts (there may be some HD local inserts too). I've got the DCH 3416 as the DVR and the TV is a Pioneer SD-532HD-5 which is connected by component (since HDMI sets weren't on the market back in 2000). These sets sense the input coming from the sources and will switch between a 480i variant (depending on your SD settings), FULL (480p) and HD. That's the annoying thing about the 3416 is that there is no HD settings for the menu sections so if you go to OnDemand the set flips into SD for the listings. A better box would just scale those to HD.

I would only notice this if I paused a bit hitting the 30-second button where the set gets a chance to sense the output. However this is something I've only seen about the past month. The set is due to be replaced at least by 2012 when Blu-Ray will stop supporting component. At that 9 years is a bit old for an RPTV to work but I don't watch TV 8 hours a day like some folks do. ;)

Brian Conrad

08-30-09, 02:55 PM

Yes, I've seen that during pauses as well, if the pause is giving us a still image of the quality of the data being sent, then it's really pretty bad.

The artifcating is "ugly", although I'm not sure how to explain that, instead of just some blockiness on the screen, it's an active mess of colored blocks/pixels/sparklies that moves across the screen as it usually only happens when there's fast motion.

Maybe Comcast should consider moving it to a frequency block that has two 720p channels as I think Syfy is packed with two other 1080i channels. It seems very clear that given the material on Syfy, very fast motion on a lot of their content, that giving the channel a bit more bandwidth would be wise. I'm not holding my breath that will ever happen though, if the masses are happy...

I'm seriously considering boosting my programing back up with DirecTV when those shows start up on Syfy. The PQ on DIRECTV is unquestionably better, but it will cost me money whereas with my Comcast situation all these HD channels beyond the locals are virtually free because of the combined promos I'm on.

I think it is more NBC/Universal. They do that on KNTV too. The lowest bitrates on any file I record using HDHR are the NBC files. So they're doing the same with their cable networks. In fact watching BSG and Heroes HD-DVD those streams were still the broadcast ones (budget method). I don't know if they went back used better sources for the Blu-Ray editions. Probably not.

I'm also just wondering how much Comcast's packages are going to change after they get everyone upgraded?

Mikef5

08-30-09, 03:06 PM

It's not really a problem but an observation. I know the technology fairly well and am just thinking they are inserting a 480i stream on the HD channel when they go to local inserts (there may be some HD local inserts too). I've got the DCH 3416 as the DVR and the TV is a Pioneer SD-532HD-5 which is connected by component (since HDMI sets weren't on the market back in 2000). These sets sense the input coming from the sources and will switch between a 480i variant (depending on your SD settings), FULL (480p) and HD. That's the annoying thing about the 3416 is that there is no HD settings for the menu sections so if you go to OnDemand the set flips into SD for the listings. A better box would just scale those to HD.

I would only notice this if I paused a bit hitting the 30-second button where the set gets a chance to sense the output. However this is something I've only seen about the past month. The set is due to be replaced at least by 2012 when Blu-Ray will stop supporting component. At that 9 years is a bit old for an RPTV to work but I don't watch TV 8 hours a day like some folks do. ;)

Ok, you do have a Comcast box. I don't have a DCH box but I think the way you access the setup menu is the same as the DCT 64xx.

With your remote turn the box off, immediately hit the Menu button. That should get you into the setup menu. Set Tv Type to 16:9, Set HDMI/YPbPr to 1080i, Set 4:3 override to OFF. Exit the menu by turning the box off and then on to watch your tv.

You will never see the problem again. Basically, you are feeding a 1080i signal all the time. Your tv will never switch resolutions.

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

08-30-09, 03:29 PM

I think it is more NBC/Universal. They do that on KNTV too. The lowest bitrates on any file I record using HDHR are the NBC files. So they're doing the same with their cable networks. In fact watching BSG and Heroes HD-DVD those streams were still the broadcast ones (budget method). I don't know if they went back used better sources for the Blu-Ray editions. Probably not.

I'm also just wondering how much Comcast's packages are going to change after they get everyone upgraded?

I don't doubt NBC/Universal culpability, but it doesn't explain the better PQ via DirecTV, the DirecTV image is even a tad sharper.

Brian Conrad

08-30-09, 04:21 PM

Ok, you do have a Comcast box. I don't have a DCH box but I think the way you access the setup menu is the same as the DCT 64xx.

With your remote turn the box off, immediately hit the Menu button. That should get you into the setup menu. Set Tv Type to 16:9, Set HDMI/YPbPr to 1080i, Set 4:3 override to OFF. Exit the menu by turning the box off and then on to watch your tv.

You will never see the problem again. Basically, you are feeding a 1080i signal all the time. Your tv will never switch resolutions.

Laters,
Mikef5

Thanks. The override was set to 480i and now to OFF and menus now are in HD. Probably those instructions should should be on a quick setup sheet rather than on some page in the manual.

MikeSM

08-30-09, 05:23 PM

The PQ of Warehouse 13 has been terrible. Especially if I pause it on the Tivo. You see MPEG blocks, etc. They're definitely cheating the bandwidth for SyFy. It'd be nice if they were more active about tuning it for certain programs. The popular programs, like Warehouse 13, Eureka etc should get more bit rate. Alien Infestation 8, not so much.

Does Comcast have the capability to adjust bandwidth dynamically? It'd be nice. Then they could give more to popular shows, and give a bit less to the latest Ron Popeil epic. :)

It'll be really annoying when SG-U, Caprica and Sanctuary start up.

The Imagine gear they use at the NDTC enables them to adjust the capacity allocated to each stream in the 3 pack. The usually do it on 30 min boundaries. But that gear is way less good than other options. The gear from RGB networks for example dynamically allocates bandwidth on a second by second basis between each of the streams, and if it runs into deficit (all 3 HD streams hitting a peak in data rate at the same exact moment), it'll dynamically transcode the video for each stream so they fit into whatever is available just for the few secs where the deficit is occurring.

The funny thing is that Comcast uses RGB equipment in the local systems for VOD capacity management, and it works really well there, but the folks who run the NDTC (ie. HITS) don't use it on the primary video channels that are sent to everyone. It's actually very sad. They know exactly how to fix the quality problem and even use the gear that can in other parts of the network, but don't do it in key place where it would make the most difference.

mpatnode

08-31-09, 01:53 AM

So this week Comcast turned off AMC, USA, A&E, and probably others I haven't checked. I'm somewhat perturbed that VMC + TV Pack considers all the extended basic QAM channels to be encrypted, even though they aren't (yet). I ranted on thegreenbutton here (http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/t/78032.aspx), but with other recent news on the addition of encryption to the DTAs, it may all be for naught.

So the one thing I determined was the current channel numbers for a copy of the clear QAM SD in San Francisco. Is there an exhaustive list maintained somewhere so I don't have to do the Sydyen procedure (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=12298432&postcount=12#Scan8) for all of these? I noticed my numbers don't match silicondust (http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/lineup_web/US:94115#lineup_612757), and mine work...

37 TNT 711MHz #7 -> 110.7
38 ESPN 711MHz #8 -> 110.8
39 ESPN2 711MHz #9 -> 110.9
42 USA 597MHz #7 -> 86.7
47 A&E 597MHz #9 -> 86.9
48 BRAVO 645MHz #10 -> 94.10
49 AMC 597MHz #12 -> 86.12
71 SYFY 603MHz #13 -> 87.13

Anyone know how often these change?

(and no, I couldn't get bbcode tables to work)

mazman49

08-31-09, 01:09 PM

Happy to report that I received the new HD channel lineup this morning! Had it not been for this forum, I wouldn't have known to expect it since there was no prior notification from Comcast, but no compaints here. My Tivo downloaded the channel changes last night.

gfbuchanan

08-31-09, 01:42 PM

The channel assignments are different depending on where in the Bay Area you live (Head End you are on.) Also, they change as Comcast moves things around. I think that SliiconDust is your best bet. Make sure you are selecting the correct Head End.

Greg

So the one thing I determined was the current channel numbers for a copy of the clear QAM SD in San Francisco. Is there an exhaustive list maintained somewhere so I don't have to do the Sydyen procedure (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=12298432&postcount=12#Scan8) for all of these? I noticed my numbers don't match silicondust (http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/lineup_web/US:94115#lineup_612757), and mine work...

Anyone know how often these change?

(and no, I couldn't get bbcode tables to work)

mpatnode

08-31-09, 01:56 PM

Thanks. After some more trial and error, I found the matching listing on silicondust.

Mikef5

08-31-09, 04:08 PM

A few tweaks to this week’s roll out schedule….

8/31 Brentwood, Oakley, Byron, Knightsen, Bethel Island, Discovery Bay, Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon and Sunol

9/2 Vacaville, Rio Vista, Pittsburg, Antioch, Bay Point, San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, Foster City, Hillsborough and Emerald Hills

Laters,
Mikef5

AndyN

08-31-09, 04:17 PM

Mikef5

08-31-09, 04:32 PM

Mikef5,

Any news for Fremont?

I do know something about Fremont and some other areas but I can't post until it's official and I'm told it's ok to post. Fremont like San Jose is a very large area with lots of nodes in it and it takes time to get all the nodes ready. Sometimes living in a big city isn't always a good thing but it is being worked on. I know that's not what you wanted to hear but trust me, when I can post I will post it here ;).

Laters,
Mikef5

MikeSM

08-31-09, 05:38 PM

MikeSM

08-31-09, 05:40 PM

I do know something about Fremont and some other areas but I can't post until it's official and I'm told it's ok to post. Fremont like San Jose is a very large area with lots of nodes in it and it takes time to get all the nodes ready. Sometimes living in a big city isn't always a good thing but it is being worked on. I know that's not what you wanted to hear but trust me, when I can post I will post it here ;).

Laters,
Mikef5

I'm sorry, but that doesn't make any any sense. All this work is done at the superheadend where the video comes off the fiber ring and then is mapped to the downstream nodes. There is a reason why all the cities hung off a supernode transition at the same time. They are all being fed from a common source. This is true if there are 10 nodes or 5000 nodes. It's the same amount of work.

These guys just don't have their act together.

Xn0r

08-31-09, 06:08 PM

I'm sorry, but that doesn't make any any sense. All this work is done at the superheadend where the video comes off the fiber ring and then is mapped to the downstream nodes. There is a reason why all the cities hung off a supernode transition at the same time. They are all being fed from a common source. This is true if there are 10 nodes or 5000 nodes. It's the same amount of work.

These guys just don't have their act together.
Perhaps the infrastructure beyond the headends had to be upgraded too?

stretch437

08-31-09, 07:09 PM

An interesting read for HTPC users:
An End To Unencrypted Digital Cable TV and the HTPC? (http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=637)

um, this news will impact way more than just PC tuner people: there are a lot of people out there using regular TV's, tivos, HDHomerun boxes, outboard QAM tuners, or whatever, to enjoy expanded basic channels while just paying for limited basic.

i would think this development would have gotten a little more comment around here...

Brian Conrad

08-31-09, 07:17 PM

solsbury

08-31-09, 07:18 PM

Ugh! SageTV's guide for San Mateo already cutover to the new lineup. Comcast can't just screw around with schedules like this!
Same here, my Tivo downloaded the new lineup on Friday. Since several channels are moving, the program guide is pretty messed up right now.

Interestingly, using the QAM tuner in my TV I can pick up several of the new channels already. Guess we'll just have to be patient a couple more days.

08-31-09, 07:44 PM

to enjoy expanded basic channels while just paying for limited basic.

Huh? That's exactly why those channels should be encrypted.

AndyN

08-31-09, 07:45 PM

I do know something about Fremont and some other areas but I can't post until it's official and I'm told it's ok to post. Fremont like San Jose is a very large area with lots of nodes in it and it takes time to get all the nodes ready. Sometimes living in a big city isn't always a good thing but it is being worked on. I know that's not what you wanted to hear but trust me, when I can post I will post it here ;).

Laters,
Mikef5

Thanks, Mike. My optimism says your comments are reassurring. figure no reason why you can't say 6months or 1 year if that were the case. Saying "not allowed to post" would suggest something sooner but Comcast reserves the right to delay if problems arise. Hopefully I'm reading things correctly. thanks again.

Andy

keenan

08-31-09, 07:49 PM

um, this news will impact way more than just PC tuner people: there are a lot of people out there using regular TV's, tivos, HDHomerun boxes, outboard QAM tuners, or whatever, to enjoy expanded basic channels while just paying for limited basic.

i would think this development would have gotten a little more comment around here...

But they shouldn't have been getting those Expanded Basic channels in the clear anyways, so for folks with just Limited Basic, whether those channels were trapped(past) or encrypted(present), they're not really losing anything.

Now, folks with digital TVs, and subscribe to Expanded Basic and up, do have something to grouse about as now those TVs(spare room, bedroom, kitchen, etc) won't be able to tune to those digital versions of the Expanded Basic channels without a Comcast STB. This is a change from the analog days where an analog TV could tune all of the Standard Cable(Limited Basic and Expanded Basic) channels just by plugging the cable into the TV, no STB required. If the TV has no analog tuner then a DTV is no good as it only outputs analog.

If it does have an analog tuner you'll have to split the input between the straight cable for your local broadcast digital channels(Limited Basic) and the DTV which will output the Expanded Basic in analog, meaning a different input on the display which presumably also means selecting a different input on that display everytime you want to watch a limited basic channel. I haven't used tuners in a display for many years so I'm not sure how the tuner(s) are setup normally, I guess the one input may feed both the analog and digital tuner, but on smaller digital displays I'm not sure they even have an analog tuner anymore.

In anycase, without a Comcast STB(or TiVo w/CC) you wont be able to tune in the digital versions of the Expanded Basic lineup on those digital TVs.

stretch437

08-31-09, 08:21 PM

whether people "should" or "shouldn't" see EB SD channels while paying for LB is not under discussion: i made no declarations or even implications that this is a good or desirable thing. the fact is, people *do* get EB channels now, possibly without even knowing why, and this is going to affect them. at some point they're going to search google for information about this and there is a very high likelihood they will land here. most of us would probably agree this can be a better way to find out what is really happening with comcast than calling an actual comcast customer service rep.

this is about news, not the morality of "stealing cable". the new ruling could result in a major change for many people that visit here. if this place is intended to be an interesting source of information about comcast, calling attention to the ruling is entirely in keeping with the purpose of avsforum.

keenan

08-31-09, 08:30 PM

abg

08-31-09, 09:30 PM

Mikef5

08-31-09, 10:09 PM

I could complain, but what's the point? Comcast has morphed into the AT&T of the 60's, without the reliable service :(. They'll do whatever they want to at this point.

I await their supplying the TVs as well as the tuners.

I've been here since the days of TCI and AT&T and I guarantee you wouldn't have seen anywhere near the improvements to the system that Comcast has done. They both did only enough to get the system working and enough to justify their high customer rates. AT&T was the worse, they had no intentions of doing any upgrades to this system at all, they saw no profit in cable tv, why do you think they dropped us like a hot potato ? Reliable service ? Not by a long shot. My brother worked for TCI and AT&T so I can tell you that you have a faulty memory of their reliable service. The only thing they did reliably was collect your monthly bill.

You have every right to complain but don't even compare the cable system we now have with the trash we had with TCI and AT&T. Heck, they thought 550 Mhz was state of the art for a cable system. If this really upsets you, you also have the right to find another provider. You have no annual contract to keep you here. Let your wallet do your talking. I don't mind people complaining but how about some constructive complaining and some constructive ideas to help get things fixed.

Heck, I hope they do give us Tv's, my Panasonic is ready to bite the dust.

Laters,
Mikef5

sydyen

08-31-09, 10:31 PM

> Now, folks with digital TVs, and subscribe to Expanded
> Basic and up, do have something to grouse about....

Couldn't agree more. Being forced to watching TV over an RF or composite signal sucks compared to the source digital signal available over QAM.

Comcast's expanded basic analog has been a household service for decades now, and although expanded basic is now a nuisance because of the channel numbering, it is far superior to viewing through an STB.

BTW, not all cable companies are as hostile to viewers as Comcast. The channel lineup for Masillon OH at http://www.dtvrollout.com/mctv-qam.pdf shows that the old analog channel lineup became xx.1 for QAM. Unlike Comcast, picture quality has not been destroyed by squeezing 10 or more channels into a single 6MHz band.

> ...for those that have multiple displays it's going to get expensive.

There are better ways to stop those who are paying for basic and watching expanded than by hurting every expanded subscriber but they would not be as profitable. It seems like the latest decision shows that FCC has gone from being a public watchdog to a lapdog of industry.

OTOH, if Comcast was to restructure its lineup to limit the number of channels per band and introduce a new generation of low cost STBs with HDMI, the improved quality would help to soften the blow.

abg

08-31-09, 10:44 PM

I've been here since the days of TCI and AT&T and I guarantee you wouldn't have seen anywhere near the improvements to the system that Comcast has done. They both did only enough to get the system working and enough to justify their high customer rates. AT&T was the worse, they had no intentions of doing any upgrades to this system at all, they saw no profit in cable tv, why do you think they dropped us like a hot potato ? Reliable service ? Not by a long shot. My brother worked for TCI and AT&T so I can tell you that you have a faulty memory of their reliable service. The only thing they did reliably was collect your monthly bill.

You have every right to complain but don't even compare the cable system we now have with the trash we had with TCI and AT&T. Heck, they thought 550 Mhz was state of the art for a cable system. If this really upsets you, you also have the right to find another provider. You have no annual contract to keep you here. Let your wallet do your talking. I don't mind people complaining but how about some constructive complaining and some constructive ideas to help get things fixed.

Heck, I hope they do give us Tv's, my Panasonic is ready to bite the dust.

Laters,
Mikef5

For reliability, I was actually referring to telephone service in the 60s, not cable TV :).

As for complaining, I was very supportive of Comcast when they first came to town. They actually did what they said they were going to do and on the timeframe they first indicated, unlike PacBell or TCI. Kudos to them for doing that. They were/are expensive, but I got what I wanted (broadband Internet and HD signals). What irks me now is their mandate that I watch programming I've already paying for through equipment that's inferior to what already exists in my TV sets using software interfaces that have only gotten worse since their introduction, and I just don't see why that had to happen. From a usability point of view, they're backsliding IMHO, regardless of the new content. I don't want to steal their signal, I just want to view their product with equipment that is better designed and responds to remote control button presses.

OK, rant off. BTW, Mike, I'd like to thank you and the others here who have posted on a regular basis the upcoming changes. They've been extremely helpful in figuring out what's going on.

Alan

Mikef5

08-31-09, 10:57 PM

For reliability, I was actually referring to telephone service in the 60s, not cable TV :).

As for complaining, I was very supportive of Comcast when they first came to town. They actually did what they said they were going to do and on the timeframe they first indicated, unlike PacBell or TCI. Kudos to them for doing that. They were/are expensive, but I got what I wanted (broadband Internet and HD signals). What irks me now is their mandate that I watch programming I've already paying for through equipment that's inferior to what already exists in my TV sets using software interfaces that have only gotten worse since their introduction, and I just don't see why that had to happen. From a usability point of view, they're backsliding IMHO, regardless of the new content. I don't want to steal their signal, I just want to view their product with equipment that is better designed and responds to remote control button presses.

OK, rant off. BTW, Mike, I'd like to thank you and the others here who have posted on a regular basis the upcoming changes. They've been extremely helpful in figuring out what's going on.

Alan

I totally agree with this. I wish they would just stay with the filter traps and allow us with the big fancy HD tv's with our digital tuners do the job that they are better equipped to do and that is a legitimate complaint and if Comcast hears it enough maybe they won't activate the security feature in the DTA's.

On the tv I use, I have a Tivo-HD with cable card and I don't use Comcast box for that tv. The other tv's in the bedroom's are strictly digital tuners with no boxes, if they do the encryption for the extended channels then I will only be able to get the basic channels. So I understand your point and I've tried to let Comcast know that the ability to use your own tv tuner for these channels is a big draw for a lot of customers. I hope they rethink this encryption thing and stay with the traps. More customers should call Comcast and let them know this is important to you, if you don't, then you have only yourself to blame.

Laters,
Mikef5

stretch437

09-01-09, 12:08 AM

for me it sorta comes down to WAF- why make your customers use one more remote?

i suppose a filter trap basically means a truck roll and that's got to be far more expensive than just flipping a switch back at the head end. and i'm sure if comcast were forced to stay with filter traps they would pass the cost on to subscribers and face far more damage to the bottom line than just aggravating a few people who had been willing to put up with arcane numbering schemes to get their digital signals how and where they wanted them.

but still, at every tier, there has always been more than one (legitimate) way to tune in comcast's services without their (crappy*) STB's. this seems like an unnecessarily disruptive takeaway for customers.

*
@sydyen:

i think they did introduce "a new generation of low cost STBs with HDMI" in the DCX series. those boxes aren't that bad in theory. the problem is more the really outdated user interface. comcast hasn't invested anything there for a long time now and eventually their complacency in this area will cost them enough customer goodwill to affect their bottom line.

abg

09-01-09, 01:07 AM

More customers should call Comcast and let them know this is important to you, if you don't, then you have only yourself to blame.

Laters,
Mikef5

Hey, I'll give it a shot if you think it might actually be read by someone who cares. My previous attempt by email to complain about the introduction of the bottom banner ad in the Guide display was answered with a "sorry; deal with it" response :).

Got a name and address I should send a snail mail to?

Thanks,
Alan

MikeSM

09-01-09, 01:10 AM

I agree, beyond the "theft" issue, there are some real everyday problems with getting these channels "legally" for many folks here.

I still can't believe the FCC allowed for the security to be activated on these DTAs, it's like we're going backwards as far as an "open cable" situation, especially with Tru2 way being pretty much still a pipe-dream at this point. Cable companies are loving it of course as now they can encrypt(meaning you need an $STB$) to get anything other than Limited Basic, even if you pay for for Expanded Basic. Not really an issue for folks with a single display, but for those that have multiple displays it's going to get expensive.

The Crypto on the DTA's isn't anything to write home about. I wouldn't be surprised if it's cracked reasonably soon.

The FCC fell down on the job here, and more importantly hasn't taken steps to make cablecard live up to it's purpose in life.

BTW, theft of service is easily avoided using the filters that are on the plant today. If you are a basic cable customer, you have a filter that notches out a bunch of channels. All Comcast needs to do is put the DTA carriers with unencrypted video in the notch, and basic cable subs would not be able to see them. No change from today.

sydyen

09-01-09, 01:28 AM

> i think they did introduce "a new generation of low cost
> STBs with HDMI" in the DCX series.

I was thinking low cost as in the two free DCX50s (plus extras at $1.99/month), not a DCX3200 or 3400.

BTW, Comcast has a special treat for those following the US Open at Flushing Meadows, the Tennis Channel is showing in clear QAM at 83.11 and on the DCH70 at 411 (though not on the DCX50).

The picture quality difference is obvious: it just goes to show how high it can be when there is only one channel in a band vs a dozen channels in a band.

83-11 Tennis Channel

84-1 KNTV
84-2 KICU
84-3 KSTS
84-4 KTEH
84-5 ION
84-6 Comcast Sports NBA
84-7 TNT
84-8 Comcast Sports NET
84-8 ESPN
84-9 ESPN 2
84-11 TBS

The compression is so bad on ESPN2 that when they go in for a closeup on the player walking to his/her chair it looks as if they are shape shifting a la Star Trek.

keenan

09-01-09, 01:35 AM

The Crypto on the DTA's isn't anything to write home about. I wouldn't be surprised if it's cracked reasonably soon.

The FCC fell down on the job here, and more importantly hasn't taken steps to make cablecard live up to it's purpose in life.

BTW, theft of service is easily avoided using the filters that are on the plant today. If you are a basic cable customer, you have a filter that notches out a bunch of channels. All Comcast needs to do is put the DTA carriers with unencrypted video in the notch, and basic cable subs would not be able to see them. No change from today.

Yes they did, from what I understand, this waiver for the crypto was supposed to be for small cable operations only as a hardship thing to stay competitive, how the largest cable company in the country ended up skating on this is a mystery to me.

I think Comcast wants to do away with the traps, less truck rolls and I think it makes everything addressable from the plant.

RBurks

09-01-09, 09:41 AM

The value to Comcast to me used to be:
PQ
Reliability
Content

With 3-packing even the new expanded HD looks like crap. Oh wait, I still dont have expanded HD. I don't even get SPEED HD, and I pay $2.99 month for SPEED!!! So now, for me, Comcast has become:
Reliability

And true to form, like the old AT&T, I am on the phone every month for 1.5 hours trying to resolve descrepencies in my bill. Deja vu all over again. It is truly a business cycle in information delivery, and Comcast has reached the point of not caring, IMHO.

MikeSM

09-01-09, 10:07 AM

Yes they did, from what I understand, this waiver for the crypto was supposed to be for small cable operations only as a hardship thing to stay competitive, how the largest cable company in the country ended up skating on this is a mystery to me.

I think Comcast wants to do away with the traps, less truck rolls and I think it makes everything addressable from the plant.

Yes. It'd be even cheaper if they only had to support STB's they shipped and not deal with pesky tivo's too. And it's cheaper for them if they could force everyone to do autodebits from their checking account. If they could force consumers to do anything, it would obviously make their business model work better.

Of course I'm being silly, but you get the point...

Mikef5

09-01-09, 02:26 PM

MikeSM and XnOr and others interested in this roll out topic,

The following is Comcast's answer to your question and for anyone else that wants to know why it takes so long to get this roll out done.

######

For the Forum

“You asked me to comment about “MikeSM” and “XnOr” postings on the same subject.

I'm sorry, but that doesn't make any any sense. All this work is done at the superheadend where the video comes off the fiber ring and then is mapped to the downstream nodes. There is a reason why all the cities hung off a supernode transition at the same time. They are all being fed from a common source. This is true if there are 10 nodes or 5000 nodes. It's the same amount of work.

These guys just don't have their act together

It is important to note that in order for the expanded channel lineup, including the 50+ high-definition channels, to be launched, all of the nodes in a city must have completed the analogue to digital transition that impacts channels 35-84.

So, as you clearly outlined in previous postings, for a large geographic area, with a large population base and a mixture of single-family homes, apartment/condo complexes, small to medium sized businesses and hotels/motels, with hundreds of nodes serving these buildings, the process to make sure every customer in a node has an ample opportunity to get a DTA and hook-it-up takes time.

Once every node has been moved to the digital transmission protocol for channels 35-84 in a city we then can start the work in the headend that serves those nodes/city to add the new channels. Then after a few weeks of work in the maintenance window (1am to 5am) to implement all of the hardware and software changes we can then “flip the switch” in a city.

I hope that helps answer your question.

#####

Laters,
Mikef5

mds54

09-01-09, 03:12 PM

^^^^
Yeah, it probably means 2010 before San Jose sees any of this.....
Anyway, thanks for keeping us posted, Mikef5.

Cal1981

09-01-09, 03:57 PM

I had sent an e-mail to "Mr. J" after getting conflicting information from a Comcast tech about the Vallejo roll out. He did respond with a description of the analogue capture and the channel additions including the phased node process (when I picked up a DTA at the local Comcast office, they said something about 9/2 for "the node"). While he couldn't reveal specifics, he did say "it sounds like you are on the home stretch and should have the expanded channel lineup featuring over 51 additional high-definition channels in the not too distant future." I also got a response from the North Bay Marketing Manager and she and I are supposed to chat about the the WOM roll out for my area.
The analogues are still active today so we'll see what the week brings.

jbudroe

09-01-09, 04:11 PM

I'm in the Comcast San Pablo area. Comcast stripped the analog channels in the 40 - 60 block in July, but I was able to get them on Clear QAM digital (e.g SyFy 85-13, AMC 93-12) doing an channel autoscan on my Visio (2.5 years old). I went on vacation for 2 weeks, and when I came back, they were gone. Channel autoscan again provided no joy. I got DTA boxes a while back, but hadn't implemented them since I'd druther digital than analog. Do I have any hope of getting those channels back on Clear QAM, or am I going to have to use the DTA box while I research alternatives to Comcast?

keenan

09-01-09, 04:25 PM

MikeSM

09-01-09, 04:40 PM

MikeSM and XnOr and others interested in this roll out topic,

The following is Comcast's answer to your question and for anyone else that wants to know why it takes so long to get this roll out done.

######

For the Forum

“You asked me to comment about “MikeSM” and “XnOr” postings on the same subject.

It is important to note that in order for the expanded channel lineup, including the 50+ high-definition channels, to be launched, all of the nodes in a city must have completed the analogue to digital transition that impacts channels 35-84.

So, as you clearly outlined in previous postings, for a large geographic area, with a large population base and a mixture of single-family homes, apartment/condo complexes, small to medium sized businesses and hotels/motels, with hundreds of nodes serving these buildings, the process to make sure every customer in a node has an ample opportunity to get a DTA and hook-it-up takes time.

Once every node has been moved to the digital transmission protocol for channels 35-84 in a city we then can start the work in the headend that serves those nodes/city to add the new channels. Then after a few weeks of work in the maintenance window (1am to 5am) to implement all of the hardware and software changes we can then “flip the switch” in a city.

I hope that helps answer your question.

#####

Laters,
Mikef5

Like I said, all you have to do is configure the equipment at the superheadhend to map the channels from the fiber ring. Done. Mr J is not referencing any technical complexity in the process, just that some customers haven't converted over to DTA's, and they want to give them more time to do so.

However, even this makes no sense. The customers who don't have DTA's or STB's went out of service WHEN THE ANALOG CHANNELS WERE REMOVED. This configuration occurs at the super-headend too. Once they are gone, they need new equipment to cutover, regardless if those channels are used for the new HD QAM carriers or empty. So I don't see what non-cutover customers have to do with turning on the HD channels or not.

If the system is still transmitting the analog channels, well, that's a different story. But in all these markets the analog was cut off weeks ago.

bwelling

09-01-09, 04:50 PM

If the system is still transmitting the analog channels, well, that's a different story. But in all these markets the analog was cut off weeks ago.

In my area at least, it's more confusing than that. Some of the analog (the 40-60 range) was turned off months ago - around the first week of May, if I remember correctly. Last time I checked (a few days ago), the remainder of the analog which was supposed to be removed (35-39, 61-84) was still there.

I imagine that anyone using analog would have noticed that a bunch of stations disappeared months ago, and either gotten a DTA by now or decided to not care. The fact that it's been about 4 months since the partial removal of channels with no further progress really doesn't make any sense.

MikeSM

09-01-09, 04:53 PM

In my area at least, it's more confusing than that. Some of the analog (the 40-60 range) was turned off months ago - around the first week of May, if I remember correctly. Last time I checked (a few days ago), the remainder of the analog which was supposed to be removed (35-39, 61-84) was still there.

I imagine that anyone using analog would have noticed that a bunch of stations disappeared months ago, and either gotten a DTA by now or decided to not care. The fact that it's been about 4 months since the partial removal of channels with no further progress really doesn't make any sense.

That's really weird. Our channels went off in one chunk. Are their other markets that haven't turned off analog?

jbudroe

09-01-09, 05:37 PM

Keenan, I'm on the Digital Starter Package.

keenan

09-01-09, 05:47 PM

Keenan, I'm on the Digital Starter Package.

Have you hooked up one of the DTAs yet? If so, do you get an analog channel output for any of those Expanded Basic channels? If you do, then it looks like the Expanded Basic channels have been encrypted in your area, or they put a trap on the line. Do you have a Comcast STB and do the channels show up there?

walk

09-01-09, 06:18 PM

09-01-09, 06:36 PM

Brian Conrad

09-01-09, 06:50 PM

That's really weird. Our channels went off in one chunk. Are their other markets that haven't turned off analog?

Analog still on here channels 35-72 (Danville headend) even though the mailing said July 22nd they'd be gone.

gfbuchanan

09-01-09, 08:05 PM

What I don't understand is people that have HD-Tivo(s) and fancy HTPC tuners and such, but then only subscribe to limited basic... I mean as far as I can see those are the only people who would be bothered by all this analog shut off and QAM shuffling nonsense - everyone else would just pop in a cable-card and be done with the whole headache.

Walk, Have you tried to buy a TV with a cable card lately? I believe that no one has made HDTVs with Cable Card slots in several years. My Sony RPT has a card slot, but that was the last of a dying breed.

The problem also occurs for folks who subscribe to Expanded Basic and have a Digital TV (QAM) tuner. If Comcast encrypts the Expanded Basic channels, then customers have to use a DTA or rent a full STB to see those channels. If they go with the DTA, and the TV only has one Coax cable input (very common) then they have to choose between connecting the cable directly to the TV so they can see the locals in HD; or connecting the cable to the DTA and the DTA RF output to the TV and only getting SD for all channels; or getting an A/B Coax antenna switch so they and toggle between the DTA and direct cable input to the HDTV. (Remember that the DTA only puts out an SD signal and only on RF channels 3 or 4. It does not put out component or composite video.) So it is not just those of us with TV tuners on our PC that have a problem. Nor is it only people with Limited Basic that poach Expanded Basic. (That will end soon, I expect.)

Greg

bareyb

09-01-09, 08:15 PM

I've been here since the days of TCI and AT&T and I guarantee you wouldn't have seen anywhere near the improvements to the system that Comcast has done. They both did only enough to get the system working and enough to justify their high customer rates. AT&T was the worse, they had no intentions of doing any upgrades to this system at all, they saw no profit in cable tv, why do you think they dropped us like a hot potato ? Reliable service ? Not by a long shot. My brother worked for TCI and AT&T so I can tell you that you have a faulty memory of their reliable service. The only thing they did reliably was collect your monthly bill.

You have every right to complain but don't even compare the cable system we now have with the trash we had with TCI and AT&T. Heck, they thought 550 Mhz was state of the art for a cable system. If this really upsets you, you also have the right to find another provider. You have no annual contract to keep you here. Let your wallet do your talking. I don't mind people complaining but how about some constructive complaining and some constructive ideas to help get things fixed.

Heck, I hope they do give us Tv's, my Panasonic is ready to bite the dust.

Laters,
Mikef5

I hate to defend what I used to call "Comcrap" but you have to give the devil their due. They HAVE made a lot of improvements and this latest batch of HD channels just about covers every single channel we have an SP for. They also got out and fixed a recent bad cable I had in one day.

Having said that, I'm still dissappointed in the big fluctuations in signal levels I am seeing lately. It drops off by as much as 10% on the signal level meter on my TiVo's. I swear I can see a difference in the PQ when the signal is lower... Is that in my head? Is it "normal" to have such large signal fluctuations? If I could get that stabilized I don't think I'd have a whole lot of complaints any more. :confused:

jbudroe

09-01-09, 09:18 PM

Kennan is right - I have Digital Expanded Basic, and where I could get the OTA HDTV and the old analog channels in digital (for at least several weeks) before via Clear QAM, now I have to use an antenna for the OTA HDTV, and have to receive the Expanded Basic channels on an HDTV analog tuner, since the Moto box Comcast supplies only has an analog Ch3/4 output. I suspect this is Comcast pushing everyone to use a STB so they can peddle MOD, and it stinks. I wasn't going to dump Comcast, but now I'm strongly thinking Dish Network.

I'm still trying to get my STB and DTA working (I'm getting mostly "service interrupted", and Comcast chat has been no help so far), so I don't absolutely know but am assuming that the digital signals for the old analog channels 40 - 60 are being encrypted. Am I on the right track there? Also, Comcast sent me a Moto DCH70 STB - can I get them to give me a DCH100, and would there be any advantage to doing so?

mpatnode

09-01-09, 09:29 PM

mpatnode

09-01-09, 09:35 PM

Kennan is right - I have Digital Expanded Basic, and where I could get the OTA HDTV and the old analog channels in digital (for at least several weeks) before via Clear QAM, now I have to use an antenna for the OTA HDTV, and have to receive the Expanded Basic channels on an HDTV analog tuner, since the Moto box Comcast supplies only has an analog Ch3/4 output. I suspect this is Comcast pushing everyone to use a STB so they can peddle MOD, and it stinks. I wasn't going to dump Comcast, but now I'm strongly thinking Dish Network.

You can pile on to bicker1 (who is suspiciously supportive of Comcast business practices) on this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17104753#post17104753). It probably won't help, but it might make you feel a little better. :)

Cal1981

09-01-09, 10:56 PM

Dospac

09-02-09, 12:28 AM

Mikef5 and the management at Comcast who watch this forum are doing an excellent job. I'm glad you are here and providing us with the info you are.

I still want to know when SJ can expect to see the new channels. An answer of weeks or months is all I'm looking for.

I'm considering reducing my TV service or dropping it entirely but seeing the new channel additions coming is making me reconsider!

diskus

09-02-09, 01:43 AM

Analogs 36-82 going gone in Los Gatos as we speak

MikeSM

09-02-09, 10:29 AM

Don't get me wrong, I think Comcast does a lot of things well. Their broadband service clearly outclasses anything else that's available here, and it's great they keep adding to it even though AT&T really isn't trying to compete.

They are adding lots of HD channels after finally biting the bullet and taking expanded basic to digital only, which is also great. But prices keep going up, they still can't do a cablecard install right, and the circus with how they add channels to the guide and timing of these upgrades moving around makes me wish they exercised the same initiative on video that they exercise on data. Oh, and they should get the imagine gear at the NDTC "fixed" as well... :)

wanderance

09-02-09, 12:10 PM

A few tweaks to this week’s roll out schedule….

9/2 Vacaville, Rio Vista, Pittsburg, Antioch, Bay Point, San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, Foster City, Hillsborough and Emerald Hills

Laters,
Mikef5

Just wanted to say turned on my TV this morning and found that the new channels were there and the TiVo had a message with a slew of changes. Was fearing the worst, but it looks like everything happened when it should and the new channels and guide data are up and running.

I am in Redwood Shores.

MikeSM

09-02-09, 01:45 PM

Just wanted to say turned on my TV this morning and found that the new channels were there and the TiVo had a message with a slew of changes. Was fearing the worst, but it looks like everything happened when it should and the new channels and guide data are up and running.

I am in Redwood Shores.

Me too. The guide and the channels seem finally aligned. I hope things are stable for awhile.

sydyen

09-02-09, 01:52 PM

> The answer is a IR blaster/STB to analog configuration.
> A bit of a pain, especially if you paid for the QAM tuners...

I wish that were true, but STBs which provide analog signals via RF or composite degrades picture quality vs clear QAM are 'not an answer'.

Even worse, IR Blasters cannot control DTAs.

The DCS50 uses the latest protocol for remote coding, and the IR Blasters in analog VCR/DVR recorders do not support it, so they cannot change channels on the DTA.

rsra13

09-02-09, 01:53 PM

I'm going to exchange an old, really old, DVR (the one with DVI!!!) at the San Jose office at 10th Street. Does anyone knows what model they have there? DCX? DCH?

keenan

09-02-09, 01:55 PM