I really wish they would too, a scene(the warden's office during the storm) in Warehouse 13(Syfy-HD) last night was a showcase for how bad the picture quality is via Comcast, just awful pixelation throughout. Does Comcast not care? Do they believe this is "good enough"?

It could be worse. They could use Ion "HD" PQ as the base standard of acceptability.

It could be worse. They could use Ion "HD" PQ as the base standard of acceptability.

That's true.

It's just frustrating as I know for a fact it can be better because of direct comparison with the DirecTV feed.

Since there has been no news about upgrading the capacity of 750MHz I suppose we can blame that as the reason for the 3-packing and the resultant crappy PG, that, and the "wrong" equipment at CMC. Of course, there's always the usual reason of "if only 1 out of 50 complains, then who cares, it's good enough"...

I wonder what Syfy shares the channel with in your area? W13 wasn't that bad last night just a little grainy in those places. It must be sharing with channels that are also demanding more bitrate.

Damn it. Here, I was wondering why I wasnt seeing the new channels. Thanks for the info.

I just spoke to Comcast's North Bay Marketing Director. She was very nice and forthright. Unfortunately, the Vallejo/Benicia area is not scheduled to get the additional HD channels until sometime in November. This is very disappointing and represents a more than two month gap between analogue capture and WOM roll out.

I wonder what Syfy shares the channel with in your area? W13 wasn't that bad last night just a little grainy in those places. It must be sharing with channels that are also demanding more bitrate.

It should be sharing with the same channels in your area, it comes from the CMC 3-packed that way. It wasn't huge blocks of pixelation, it was just that it lasted so long, lots of small discolored pixels/blocks, pretty much all the way through the storm scene before they get into the office. The encoders or whatever are simply not keeping up with the fast changes in the image. I'm viewing it on a 73" screen so maybe these problems are easier to see.

Can anyone confirm that the Dublin area has the new/additional HD's? I saw a post a few pages back that said August 31st....just looking for some confirmation.

It should be sharing with the same channels in your area, it comes from the CMC 3-packed that way. It wasn't huge blocks of pixelation, it was just that it lasted so long, lots of small discolored pixels/blocks, pretty much all the way through the storm scene before they get into the office. The encoders or whatever are simply not keeping up with the fast changes in the image. I'm viewing it on a 73" screen so maybe these problems are easier to see.
I noticed that it didn't seem to be as bad as last week's episode. Perhaps it's because whatever it was sharing bandwidth with wasn't as demanding at that time? But yeah, I have only a 42" HDTV, but I saw the discolored/black box during the higher action scenes last night. I could pause the TivoHD and see them clearly.

I wonder if the can go to a better codec like H.264 (I think they're using mpeg2, right?)? Obviously, the cable boxes would have to handle that. I think Tivos can.

Can anyone confirm that the Dublin area has the new/additional HD's? I saw a post a few pages back that said August 31st....just looking for some confirmation.

Yes, they came up on the 31st.

Yes, they came up on the 31st.
Any comments about the PQ? I was watching some HD content on a friend's XBR3 and didn't think it looked all that much worse than DirecTV

I noticed that it didn't seem to be as bad as last week's episode. Perhaps it's because whatever it was sharing bandwidth with wasn't as demanding at that time? But yeah, I have only a 42" HDTV, but I saw the discolored/black box during the higher action scenes last night. I could pause the TivoHD and see them clearly.

I wonder if the can go to a better codec like H.264 (I think they're using mpeg2, right?)? Obviously, the cable boxes would have to handle that. I think Tivos can.

It will be a very Very VERY long time before comcast starts shipping everything in MPEG4. None of the existing cable boxes (aside from a few DCX's) understand it, and because of FCC rules, any new STB needs cablecard in it which increases the cost a lot over the older integrated security boxes, so it costs a LOT of money to swap them out. of course, if the dropped all the stupid copy protection nonsense from the cablecard host spec, the boxes could be a lot cheaper, but I doubt that will happen.

No my friend, it's MPEG2 for us.

I noticed that it didn't seem to be as bad as last week's episode. Perhaps it's because whatever it was sharing bandwidth with wasn't as demanding at that time? But yeah, I have only a 42" HDTV, but I saw the discolored/black box during the higher action scenes last night. I could pause the TivoHD and see them clearly.

I wonder if the can go to a better codec like H.264 (I think they're using mpeg2, right?)? Obviously, the cable boxes would have to handle that. I think Tivos can.

Comcast is using MPEG2, they could transition to a more efficient codec, although that would require a fairly massive outlay of capitol. I don't see that happening any time soon at all. I think Syfy is still originated as MPEG2, I'm not sure what NBC/Universal are doing for the network distribution. I know that HBO is 100% MPEG4 though and it looks stellar via DirecTV, not so much via Comcast.

But really, that fact is that if there are few complaints Comcast has no incentive to improve the quality, so it's likely to stay that way. Can't really blame them, it's a business after all.

Any comments about the PQ? I was watching some HD content on a friend's XBR3 and didn't think it looked all that much worse than DirecTV

I just scanned the new line up and not watched much yet. ESPN News looked good, other than that seems like like the same ol comcast pc. I will know more in the next few days and give a better update

Do current and past clear QAM HDTVs support MPEG4???? My guess is no. If you think there has been a lot of comments about the encryption of Expanded Basic, just imagine the howls from all of the HDTV owners if their QAM tuners quit working with MPEG4!:eek:

Greg

Do current and past clear QAM HDTVs support MPEG4???? My guess is no. If you think there has been a lot of comments about the encryption of Expanded Basic, just imagine the howls from all of the HDTV owners if their QAM tuners quit working with MPEG4!:eek:

Greg

Well, in that case they would most likely leave the local broadcast channels as MPEG2 within the QAM carrier, but anything beyond that you need a box anyway, or will need a box when they get around to encrypting the Expanded Basic channels, so MPEG4 is a very viable option, if they were so inclined to spend the money to do it. It would have very little effect on subscribers displays and what they can tune to with the onboard tuners.

I just chatted with a Comcast representative about when the new HD channels will be available in San Francisco. (When I asked last month, no date was available.) The answer tonight:

Additional HD channels will be available on 9/29 at your region.

The last I checked they have the DCX there and the DCH. If I were you I'd get the DCX, it's the newer model and I believe it has resolution pass-through.

Laters,
Mikef5

Thanks, I hope I can get a DCX.

Last night I plugged the coax cable directly to my TV and found 37 analog channel and 157 digital channels. Some are repeated of course. Only the local channels are HD though.

And man what a difference in the SD channels, they look like crap using the cable box, and they look fine connecting the cable directly to the TV. I hope the DCX works better with SD.

DCX (and DCH) 3xxx series boxes are digital only- they do not have an analog tuner.

as long as some channels are still being transmitted in analog, you might prefer using a device that is capable of tuning those channels.

in my experience, the digital versions of the low numbered SD channels do not look as good as the analog versions. the analog versions are allocated more bandwidth than the digital versions (which is precisely why the analog versions are going away) and can actually look better if your analog tuner is at all good. the QAM versions introduce all the usual artifacts such as mosquito noise, motion artifacts, jaggies, banding and so on.

i was very disappointed in the PQ on SD locals when i went from a DCT 6412 to a DCH 3416.

the situation will be forgotten in few years when even the low numbered channels will be converted from analog to digital, but for now i think analog is preferable for subscribers who have good 480i deinterlacing capabilities either in their display or in outboard equipment.

Got a DCX-3400. Really nice box. Just plugged it and tested a couple of HD channels. I changed the setting to output native resolution too. And yeah, noted the bug related to the sound (delay in sound when switching to an HD channel). Since this is for my bedroom it's fine for me. I have a DCH-3400 in my home theater room and no issues, other than the crappy SD image in a 100'' screen :D

Just checked and all of the analogues are still alive and well in Vallejo.

One issue I've found with the new channels: SPIKEHD guide data on the MOT DVR is a few hours off from reality (and from the SD channel).

How does one pass the word along to Comcast to let them know these things with a reasonable chance that the right person will get the message?

-Dave

I just talked to one of the Comcast Live Chat people, and she said that the Launch Schedule lists Fremont on 10/13. I still don't understand the 5+ month delay since the original date on the World of More letter, but at least it's going to happen this year.

Anyone else in San Mateo not receiving WGN-HD (717)? It's part of my Tivo lineup, but there's nothing there. All the other new HD channels are working fine, so I'm wondering if it's just me or an area wide problem. Thanks.

Anyone else in San Mateo not receiving WGN-HD (717)? It's part of my Tivo lineup, but there's nothing there. All the other new HD channels are working fine, so I'm wondering if it's just me or an area wide problem. Thanks.
Solsbury,

Sometimes the Tivo, for some unknown reason, will show a blank screen even when the channel is there. Try this... On your Tivo go to the messages and settings, select settings, next select channels, then select Signal Strength - Cable ( Make sure you're on channel 717 when you do this ). This will sometimes jolt the Tivo into displaying the channel. This has happened to me twice and it's always worked for me.

Laters,
Mikef5

I just talked to one of the Comcast Live Chat people, and she said that the Launch Schedule lists Fremont on 10/13. I still don't understand the 5+ month delay since the original date on the World of More letter, but at least it's going to happen this year.
Bwelling,

There is no official roll out schedule for Fremont, where this Chat person got her info is beyond me. To be clear, the CSR's and these Chat people do not have any official schedule, not only that Comcast never gives out schedule dates a month ahead of time. To many things can happen in a month that could alter or change those dates and people would scream bloody murder if Comcast missed that roll out date. I do have tentative dates for Fremont and some other areas but they are very tentative and subject to change and are not to be released until they have become final. The next official roll out schedule will come out some time after the holiday and will be posted here.

Laters,
Mikef5

Solsbury,

Sometimes the Tivo, for some unknown reason, will show a blank screen even when the channel is there. Try this... On your Tivo go to the messages and settings, select settings, next select channels, then select Signal Strength - Cable ( Make sure you're on channel 717 when you do this ). This will sometimes jolt the Tivo into displaying the channel. This has happened to me twice and it's always worked for me.

Laters,
Mikef5
Thanks for the suggestion, Mikef5. So I tried it and still nothing. Interestingly, the meter shows a strong signal, but all that's displayed is a blank gray screen.

Thanks for the suggestion, Mikef5. So I tried it and still nothing. Interestingly, the meter shows a strong signal, but all that's displayed is a blank gray screen.
Did you make sure you were on channel 717 before you did the signal check ? This has happened to me a couple of times and this procedure has worked and from what you have said, you are getting the rest of the channels with no problems so it would be strange that only one channel is messed up.

Laters,
Mikef5

Can anyone say what South Bay, or Peninsula offices, typically have the DCX's in stock? I'm trying to swap out my DCT, and neither the Foster City, nor Sunnyvale (they apparently closed Burlingame and Palo Alto), have any. I just moved here and asked for one over the phone (after reading reviews) and they brought me a DCT instead. If not, is there a way to order one? Thanks.

From dslreports:

It's once again cable rate hike season for Comcast customers, who'll be seeing higher bills depending on where you live, and depending on what competition Comcast sees in your market. Washington state residents will be the first lucky winners, given that Qwest is the primary phone company and telcoTV is a non-issue. In Washington, Comcast will be issuing a flurry of higher rates starting October 6. The hikes will cover not only TV service (traditionally blamed on higher broadcaster fees), but also assorted other hardware fees.

According to a memo obtained by Broadband Reports, Limited Basic customers will see an average increase of $1.17 per month, while Comcast's entry level digital cable tier will jump $1.70 from $55.75 to $57.45. Comcast's digital additional outlet fee, used for customers with additional modems or set top boxes, will increase $1 from $5.10 to $6.10. Customers who rent modems or eMTAs for digital voice will also see their $3 monthly rental fee bumped to $5.

The memo, which provides talking points to employees when dealing with consumers, rhetorically asks: "does it make sense for us to raise prices given the state of the economy?" The memo responds to its own question with an unequivocal yes, though executives in the memo insist that imposing additional rate hikes during a sour economy was "discussed at the highest levels of the company" (you know, by the guys making nearly $25 million annually) and "was not taken lightly" by said millionaires.

Comcast reminds employees that DirecTV's basic tier jumped 30% this year, while several FiOS tiers have jumped $10 a month. As is usually the case, Comcast blames the higher costs on the higher costs of programming (specifically sports), but also lays the blame on "new advanced set top boxes and modems" and DOCSIS 3.0 network upgrades. The same upgrades the company in 2007 proudly proclaimed could be funded by "couch change." Comcast's second quarter earnings jumped 53%, and the carrier posted a three month net income of nearly a billion dollars

Solsbury, Mikef5,ei

I have the same problem with WGNHD 717. I called TiVo and the tech tried to force the channel. He advised to call Comcast and ask then to reset the Cable card. I called Comcast. The tech checked the card and everything looked okay. She called me back and told me that my area is not authorized. I'm in Redwood Shores. I called a friend in San Mateo who has a Comcast 34XX box and his says Not Authorized.
Doesn't make sense

John

Bwelling,

There is no official roll out schedule for Fremont, where this Chat person got her info is beyond me. To be clear, the CSR's and these Chat people do not have any official schedule, not only that Comcast never gives out schedule dates a month ahead of time. To many things can happen in a month that could alter or change those dates and people would scream bloody murder if Comcast missed that roll out date. I do have tentative dates for Fremont and some other areas but they are very tentative and subject to change and are not to be released until they have become final. The next official roll out schedule will come out some time after the holiday and will be posted here.

Laters,
Mikef5

That's not quite true Mike. There actually is an internal launch schedule that CSR's have access to. It shows roll out dates for various cities up to 10/13. Your're right, the dates on that list are tentative and subject to change ( the date for the Haward, San Leandro, and San Lorenzo area has changed once already in the past week, I live in that area so I've been checking constantly ) So it's not something that a CSR could post or leak out on fourm like this. That's supposed to be left to Mr J to send out any offical word on things like that. However if a customer calls asking about a particular city and that city is on the internal launch schedule with a date, then the CSR would be able to pass on that info to the customer. So in this particular case, the CSR was giving out accurate info. To a certain degree anyway

Good news for San Jose!

I just received the flier by mail. The one some other people have received in the past.

It says: More HD channels are coming to your TV beginning the week of October 6, 2009!

I'm in South San Jose. And yeah, it lists all the new channels as previously mentioned.

Did you make sure you were on channel 717 before you did the signal check ? This has happened to me a couple of times and this procedure has worked and from what you have said, you are getting the rest of the channels with no problems so it would be strange that only one channel is messed up.

Laters,
Mikef5
I definitely was on channel 717. While the signal meter was on I also changed back and forth between channels and everything else came in fine except for WGNHD. Anyway, from John in Redwood Shores' last post (Thanks!), it sounds like it's problem at the headend.

Can anyone say what South Bay, or Peninsula offices, typically have the DCX's in stock?

nope. unless someone posts a breaking news alert here (or an helpful insider PM's you on the side), you probably aren't going to know in advance whether any of those offices have DCX's . it is very unpredictable right now. they come in at random intervals in small quantities and tend to disappear quickly. so your odds of just getting one when you visit a office on any given day aren't high. not zero, just not high.

That's not quite true Mike. There actually is an internal launch schedule that CSR's have access to. It shows roll out dates for various cities up to 10/13. Your're right, the dates on that list are tentative and subject to change ( the date for the Haward, San Leandro, and San Lorenzo area has changed once already in the past week, I live in that area so I've been checking constantly ) So it's not something that a CSR could post or leak out on fourm like this. That's supposed to be left to Mr J to send out any offical word on things like that. However if a customer calls asking about a particular city and that city is on the internal launch schedule with a date, then the CSR would be able to pass on that info to the customer. So in this particular case, the CSR was giving out accurate info. To a certain degree anyway

Any surreptitious info re the East Bay, e.g., Berkeley/Oakland?

I just saw that Comcast has a World of More ad on TV. It implies that right now people can call and get it. It doesn't say anything about a rollout and that many people in the Bay Area still have to wait a month or longer to get it. I think that's kind of ridiculous. IMHO, it shouldn't be advertised all over the Bay Area when it's not avail everywhere yet.

Imagine if in April all of the Bay area saw ads for DOCSIS 3.0, and not saying "Coming Soon," but that it is here. But in many parts of the East Bay it didn't come until July.

October 6, 2009
in my case i'm over by good sam hospital on the san jose/los gatos border, so if you're in los gatos near the hospital/carlton school, this may apply to you too.

Can anyone confirm that the Dublin area has the new/additional HD's? I saw a post a few pages back that said August 31st....just looking for some confirmation.

Yes, we got all the additional channels here right on time.

I received the flier today here in downtown SJ. Oct 6th. weeeeeeee

I definitely was on channel 717. While the signal meter was on I also changed back and forth between channels and everything else came in fine except for WGNHD. Anyway, from John in Redwood Shores' last post (Thanks!), it sounds like it's problem at the headend.

FWIW I'm getting WGN HD just fine here in 95054.

nope. unless someone posts a breaking news alert here (or an helpful insider PM's you on the side), you probably aren't going to know in advance whether any of those offices have DCX's . . . .

If anyone actually has a DCX, I'm sure many of us would be curious to have an equipment review. How improved are these boxes over the DCT and DCH models? Haven't been able to find much on the web about them.

I dug out the pamphlet from Comcast I got a couple months back saying that for Martinez, Pacheco and Pleasant Hill July 22nd was to be the switchover for channels 35-75 to digital. So far that has not happened. I may also have received a World of More flier but will need to dig through the pile to find it.

I got a flier from Comcast today in Union City....it said I can save money by switching to triple play....just kidding. My flier says Oct. 5th.

There's a thread here in HDTV Recorders about the DCX. There are some bugs with HDMI and using native output that are more annoying for some people than others.
In my case I upgraded my bedroom tv and exchanged an old DVR, with DVI!, for a DCX. I also have a DCH in my home theater room but that's connected to a projector in a 100'' screen. The DCX is connected to a 46'' Sony LCD. I don't think I can't make a fair comparison, but it seems SD channels look better in the DCX. HD channels look almost the same.

Link to thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=968638

I'm with the inlaws in Santa Rosa and it seems they just recently lost all the analog channels above 37. Does that means good news for SR?

Yesterday I installed the 2 DTA boxes and I actually like them. My inlaws only have SD tvs but I don't see any lost in quality with the boxes. Also they are receiving more channels now, up until I installed the DTAs they were able to watch those only in two TVs, with the normal Moto boxes.

I'm with the inlaws in Santa Rosa and it seems they just recently lost all the analog channels above 37. Does that means good news for SR?

Yesterday I installed the 2 DTA boxes and I actually like them. My inlaws only have SD tvs but I don't see any lost in quality with the boxes. Also they are receiving more channels now, up until I installed the DTAs they were able to watch those only in two TVs, with the normal Moto boxes.

It's been that way for several months(4-5?), all those Expanded Basic channels have been clear-QAM for that time period, although I'm quite sure they'll be encrypted soon after Comcast completes the conversion/addition process here.

Solsbury, Mikef5,

As of today WGNHD 717 works in Redwood Shores. I assume San Mateo should be okay also.

John

Solsbury, Mikef5,

As of today WGNHD 717 works in Redwood Shores. I assume San Mateo should be okay also.

John
Thanks John. I noticed it came on here in San Mateo last night. Now the only odd thing about the new lineup is ABC Family on both 764 and 768.

My DCX3400 power cycles itself often - at least once a week around 11pm. It does look like it is downloading something once it powers up.

Are the auto power cycles common? The only downside is that it takes a day or two to fully download the listings on the channel guide every time this happens.

I'm in Fremont running the 22.35 firmware.

Thanks John. I noticed it came on here in San Mateo last night. Now the only odd thing about the new lineup is ABC Family on both 764 and 768.

Those are just the new/old channels. They're transmitting the channels on both the old chan # and the new one at the moment. Eventually the old ones will disappear I suspect. Generally, the new chan #s are the higher one.

Comcast appears to have moved a bunch of chans around to reorganize them better into tiers and/or categories.

Holiday is over. Time for this weeks roll out schedule.


Thursday September 10th--- South San Francisco, Daly City, Pacifica, Broadmoor, Brisbane and Colma.


I know he said sometime after the holiday for the new schedule but this is really soon.....:p
If I find out more I'll post it here.

Laters,
Mikef5

Makes me wonder if all these new areas will also have to do the Bad Program Data Dance like I've been doing for over a month now.

Current status: I think the comcast guide still has one bad channel last time I checked, Tivo PG data has four.

Makes me wonder if all these new areas will also have to do the Bad Program Data Dance like I've been doing for over a month now.

Current status: I think the comcast guide still has one bad channel last time I checked, Tivo PG data has four.
Xn0r,

What's the bad channel on Comcast ? I'll see if it can be fixed, can't help with the Tivo stuff though.

Laters,
Mikef5

Xn0r,

What's the bad channel on Comcast ? I'll see if it can be fixed, can't help with the Tivo stuff though.

Laters,
Mikef5

847 The Movie Channel HD ... Showing a west coast feed, but PG data on both Tivo and Cable box are for the East Coast feed.

What's actually showing on the channel is what's in the program guide three hours earlier.

I've submitted this at least twice, to tivo, and once to zap2it.

847 The Movie Channel HD ... Showing a west coast feed, but PG data on both Tivo and Cable box are for the East Coast feed.

What's actually showing on the channel is what's in the program guide three hours earlier.

I've submitted this at least twice, to tivo, and once to zap2it.

That explains why I didn't see it, I don't get TMC-HD. Just not going to pay for a channel that rarely has anything I'd watch and to charge for it separately and not include it in any package is just not worth it for me. But I'll see if I can find a person to get it corrected on the Comcast guide.

Laters,
Mikef5

Closed caption on Comcast DVR's

I just picked up a HD-DVR, Motorola DCH3416, from the local office. Just can't turn down the free for 12 months deal. To turn on Closed Caption, I have to power off the box and then go into user settings to change the CC setting. The TiVo is so much better. Question: does the DCX series DVR's have an easier way to turn on/off CC? Seems like the manual shows the same procedure, but perhaps someone using the new DVR can confirm.

Closed caption on Comcast DVR's

I just picked up a HD-DVR, Motorola DCH3416, from the local office. Just can't turn down the free for 12 months deal. To turn on Closed Caption, I have to power off the box and then go into user settings to change the CC setting. The TiVo is so much better. Question: does the DCX series DVR's have an easier way to turn on/off CC? Seems like the menu shows the same procedure, but perhaps someone using the new DVR can confirm.

Don't know about the CC, but could you elaborate on that "free for a year" HD-DVR deal?

Don't know about the CC, but could you elaborate on that "free for a year" HD-DVR deal?

Some people are getting a free HD-DVR for 12 months. Depends on market, what packages you have, etc. Definitely YMMV.

Some people are getting a free HD-DVR for 12 months. Depends on market, what packages you have, etc. Definitely YMMV.

I'll have to check with them. I just discovered today I can get Showtime for year for $1 a month if I add Preferred to my Digital Classic package for $9.95 per month. That would give me HBO and SHO for $1 a month for 12 mos with the HBO continuing for free for the next 12 mos after that. The question is how many channels of those Preferred channels am I going to be interested in. Even so, SHO for $11 per month is still a good deal.

I hate this crap! Why not just charge us less for the Premium channels to begin with. It's like Comcast is playing a shell game. What a con!

I hate this crap! Why not just charge us less for the Premium channels to begin with. It's like Comcast is playing a shell game. What a con!

Nature of the beast, for every person who comes across the $1 SHO deal there's likely 20-30 who will pay the full $18.99. DirecTV does the same thing with Sunday Ticket and the $100 HD option, if you whine enough they'll waive the $100 Super Fan(HD) charge and even lower the cost of the core ST package. Those that don't ask pay the full boat. I should add that I believe most of these deals are aimed at those that have the lower cost packages, I had Limited Basic before I got into the deal/promo game.



Which reminds me... I talked to 3 different CSRs today, and all of them said I could add another CableCARD device - $1.79(for a 2nd TiVo) and a Comcast HD-DVR - $15.95, and there would be no "Additional Outlet fees. Does that sound right?

Nature of the beast, for every person who comes across the $1 SHO deal there's likely 20-30 who will pay the full $18.99. DirecTV does the same thing with Sunday Ticket and the $100 HD option, if you whine enough they'll waive the $100 Super Fan(HD) charge and even lower the cost of the core ST package. Those that don't ask pay the full boat. I should add that I believe most of these deals are aimed at those that have the lower cost packages, I had Limited Basic before I got into the deal/promo game.



Which reminds me... I talked to 3 different CSRs today, and all of them said I could add another CableCARD device - $1.79(for a 2nd TiVo) and a Comcast HD-DVR - $15.95, and there would be no "Additional Outlet fees. Does that sound right?

I don't think that's right. I believe that's the old price, and now they basically charge you 6.99/mon/per card... Basically, it's the same price as leasing a basic STB from them, so they are trying to make you pay for a box even if you bring your own. My DCP's are the same way. I used to pay nothing, and now they stick me with an additional fee for each.

I don't think that's right. I believe that's the old price, and now they basically charge you 6.99/mon/per card... Basically, it's the same price as leasing a basic STB from them, so they are trying to make you pay for a box even if you bring your own. My DCP's are the same way. I used to pay nothing, and now they stick me with an additional fee for each.

I'm going to go back and get a "4th opinion" and if they say the same thing, I'll have the CC added to my account right there and see how the bill looks. Does Comcast still require an install visit for CableCARD?

I'm going to go back and get a "4th opinion" and if they say the same thing, I'll have the CC added to my account right there and see how the bill looks. Does Comcast still require an install visit for CableCARD?

Should be available at the counter.

Edit: Oops... it looks like it didnt change after all... I had to restart my tuners...

I lost all my QAM channels in Vallejo. Did something change?

i got this flyer telling me to order my equipment before 9/22... is this the infamous "flyer" everyone is talking about?

Nature of the beast, for every person who comes across the $1 SHO deal there's likely 20-30 who will pay the full $18.99. DirecTV does the same thing with Sunday Ticket and the $100 HD option, if you whine enough they'll waive the $100 Super Fan(HD) charge and even lower the cost of the core ST package. Those that don't ask pay the full boat. I should add that I believe most of these deals are aimed at those that have the lower cost packages, I had Limited Basic before I got into the deal/promo game.



Which reminds me... I talked to 3 different CSRs today, and all of them said I could add another CableCARD device - $1.79(for a 2nd TiVo) and a Comcast HD-DVR - $15.95, and there would be no "Additional Outlet fees. Does that sound right?

It's like buying a car. If you know how to wheel and deal you can drive a new car off the lot for a lot less than the majority who don't. This thread is becoming more on how to "game" the system. :D

It appears to be that Comcast (as well as other services) has promised to deliver X amount of customers to various services. So if you whine and usually wouldn't have that lower cost option available to you they offer it anyway not to placate you but as one of the numbers they've promised.

I'm still for "ala carte" as I really don't watch a bunch of different channels and don't want to subsidize programming I never watch. And I wonder what they are going to "tier" the new HD channels. So if we're only am interested in a couple channels in the third tier are we going to have to pay a penalty by paying for even more channels we'll never watch?

Should be available at the counter.

Sounds good, thanks. :)

It's like buying a car. If you know how to wheel and deal you can drive a new car off the lot for a lot less than the majority who don't. This thread is becoming more on how to "game" the system. :D

It appears to be that Comcast (as well as other services) has promised to deliver X amount of customers to various services. So if you whine and usually wouldn't have that lower cost option available to you they offer it anyway not to placate you but as one of the numbers they've promised.

I'm still for "ala carte" as I really don't watch a bunch of different channels and don't want to subsidize programming I never watch. And I wonder what they are going to "tier" the new HD channels. So if we're only am interested in a couple channels in the third tier are we going to have to pay a penalty by paying for even more channels we'll never watch?

It's a system that Comcast themselves have set up so nobody should feel the least bit guilty about "gaming it", I know I sure don't. :D

You might be right about the numbers, could be sub numbers to meet a contract level and/or internal sales targets. I think premium channels get bartered with a lot as the last I read, about 2 years ago, channels like HBO/SHO cost the carrier(Comcast, DirecTV, etc) around $5 to $8 per subscriber, so it's easy for them to deal on those channels, especially when there are subs paying the full $18.99 to carry the load as it were. Internet service is huge profit center so it's relatively easy for them to offer very good deals/promos there as well.

Broadband Reports (http://www.dslreports.com/forums/53) is a good place to check on what sort of deals may be available. The best thing to do is just ask though, just a visit to the office every other month or so to ask what's new could be tremendously cost saving, I know it has been for me.

I've held off on going Digital Classic(Preferred) for the same reason, currently there's nothing there I want, like you, I'm waiting to see how the new channel actually fall. The only channel I was really interested in was MLB-HD, but by the time it's added to the Santa Rosa system the baseball season will already be over. On the other hand, as I noted earlier, SHO with a cost of $11 per month($1-SHO and $9.95 for Classic/Preferred) is still a very good price, especially with Dexter starting soon..

Xn0r,

What's the bad channel on Comcast ? I'll see if it can be fixed, can't help with the Tivo stuff though.

Laters,
Mikef5
Last night I checked the comcast dvr guide for the new HD channels in Sunnyvale. I only noticed 2 that had incorrect data:

735 SpikeHD
767 Nik HD

It seems the guide is showing the east coast listing when it is showing the west coast feed.

Also, I notice there are two of the same Disney HD channels: 765 and 769
Why is this and will this change eventually?

Thanks,
Steve

The best thing to do is just ask though, just a visit to the office every other month or so to ask what's new could be tremendously cost saving, I know it has been for me.


You may want to try online chat. Some of the deals are not available in the store, or at least that's what the store people say.

By the way, the lines at some of the stores, like the Sunnyvale one, were very long.

You may want to try online chat. Some of the deals are not available in the store, or at least that's what the store people say.

By the way, the lines at some of the stores, like the Sunnyvale one, were very long.

Yes, it seems there's a difference between the store and the phone, never tried the online option. The wait at Santa Rosa has never been more than 15 mins or so, place runs like a DMV, looks like one too.:p

Which reminds me... I talked to 3 different CSRs today, and all of them said I could add another CableCARD device - $1.79(for a 2nd TiVo) and a Comcast HD-DVR - $15.95, and there would be no "Additional Outlet fees. Does that sound right?

The 2nd card $1.79 charge is for a 2nd S-card in the SAME tivo device (enable dual tuners in old S3 hd tivo), not for another Tivo (device).
If you put a new M-card in a new /2nd HD Tivo (not S3), you wouldn't get $1.79, it should be the addnl outlet charge.

Another comcast DVR should probably be an AO charge also, but I can't recall how much of the AO charge they put into the $16 rental cost... I think it was the digital package that basically included the first cablecard/STB (which would be the tivo.)

But hey, if they want to charge you less, go for it :) Just be sure to check the bills carefully..

The 2nd card $1.79 charge is for a 2nd S-card in the SAME tivo device (enable dual tuners in old S3 hd tivo), not for another Tivo (device).
If you put a new M-card in a new /2nd HD Tivo (not S3), you wouldn't get $1.79, it should be the addnl outlet charge.

Another comcast DVR should probably be an AO charge also, but I can't recall how much of the AO charge they put into the $16 rental cost... I think it was the digital package that basically included the first cablecard/STB (which would be the tivo.)

But hey, if they want to charge you less, go for it :) Just be sure to check the bills carefully..

The good thing about online chatting is that you can print out the transcript and keep it in case there is some over-charge later.

i got this flyer telling me to order my equipment before 9/22... is this the infamous "flyer" everyone is talking about?

Don't sit waiting. In Vallejo, we got the same notice with a 9/1 deadline but according to the CC NorCal marketing director, we won't get the new channels until November. We haven't even had our analogue channels go away yet.

Was house sitting over the weekend in Fairfax (Marin), they have Comcast HDTV service. Though I saw a few duplicate HD channels (DisneyHD?), and the HBO2/Showtime2/etc channels are all up in the 800s while the main channels are still in the 700s.... do they have plans to rearrange this stuff? Really a mess.

On the other hand the DTA looked really good on their ~16 year old 19" Sony Trinitron (in the den). Seems like it pulls in a lot of channels up in the high 100s and 200s too that obviously you wouldn't get with analog TV. Other than having a small box it seems like a win-win for everyone.

The 2nd card $1.79 charge is for a 2nd S-card in the SAME tivo device (enable dual tuners in old S3 hd tivo), not for another Tivo (device).
If you put a new M-card in a new /2nd HD Tivo (not S3), you wouldn't get $1.79, it should be the addnl outlet charge.

Another comcast DVR should probably be an AO charge also, but I can't recall how much of the AO charge they put into the $16 rental cost... I think it was the digital package that basically included the first cablecard/STB (which would be the tivo.)

But hey, if they want to charge you less, go for it :) Just be sure to check the bills carefully..

Barovelli could correct us, but I think this is right. The Tivo HD uses M-cards, so there is really no reason for anyone to need 2 S cards anymore. Any new device I think they charge you an AO charge (6.99) which is what they will lease a non-DVR box for. DVR adds $10/month per box, so that's why a DVR box nets out at 16.99/month.

I'm pretty sure the CSR didn't know what they were talking about on the charges. They may give you a credit if you show them the transcript, but I am pretty sure their system won't let the CSR charge you 1.79 for an M Card or S card in a new device.

Should be available at the counter.

Are you sure? Last time I tried calling them they insisted on a visit because they needed some number from the host device (Which I couldn't understand since the card itself can read that info from host).

Are you sure? Last time I tried calling them they insisted on a visit because they needed some number from the host device (Which I couldn't understand since the card itself can read that info from host).

Self installation has been available in the Bay Area for a long time. I have done 3 myself.

Self installation has been available in the Bay Area for a long time. I have done 3 myself.

For a little over a year is what the Rep said when I picked up an M-Card today.

Finally got the flyer regarding Fremont today with a "MORE HD" date of 10/12. Hope it sticks. Actually hope they're ahead of schedule.

I also heard a rumor of this date for the new HD channels in the East Bay (Oakland, Berkeley, etc.). Anybody else?

Haven't seen or heard anything about this...

Looks like HSI "performance" tier has been upgraded to 12mbps here in Petaluma (was 6mb). It's always hard to judge things with speed tests because of "Speed boost" but I've been downloading a 4GB file here for a 20-30 mins now and getting a constant 1.5MB/sec (B=bytes) which if my California public school edumacation is correct works out to 12mbits/sec constant.

Has anybody opened a Service Request ticket with Tivo to add the new guide data? No even Tribune, nor Comcast.com have the new channels listed. I am on Daly City feed.

Saludos.

NEVER MIND, GUIDE DATA WITH NO CHANELL..

Haven't seen or heard anything about this...

Looks like HSI "performance" tier has been upgraded to 12mbps here in Petaluma (was 6mb). It's always hard to judge things with speed tests because of "Speed boost" but I've been downloading a 4GB file here for a 20-30 mins now and getting a constant 1.5MB/sec (B=bytes) which if my California public school edumacation is correct works out to 12mbits/sec constant.

Addicting, aint it. :)

For a little over a year is what the Rep said when I picked up an M-Card today.

Very cool! I must be behind the times. :-)

What did the counter person say the M-card would cost you?

Got a flier from Comcast saying new HD channels starting 10/9. I believe I can confirm rsra13's assertion that the above 35 analog channels are gone. My LG DVR doesn't get them any more. Will this mean less compression for these new channels?

http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-09-2009/0005091086&EDATE=

Yet another viable option if you really hate that Comcast DVR. I've always balked at having to buy a whole new PC, especially when I have 2 sitting around doing pretty much nothing. But this actually perks my interest. $250/tuner is still kind of expensive but hopefully that will come down now that the "masses" can now buy it. It also supports up to 4 tuners.

Very cool! I must be behind the times. :-)

What did the counter person say the M-card would cost you?

She said(she will have been the 4th person to say the same thing BTW) it will cost me $1.70 per month, that it would be the only additional charge on my bill. Works for me. :)

http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-09-2009/0005091086&EDATE=

Yet another viable option if you really hate that Comcast DVR. I've always balked at having to buy a whole new PC, especially when I have 2 sitting around doing pretty much nothing. But this actually perks my interest. $250/tuner is still kind of expensive but hopefully that will come down now that the "masses" can now buy it. It also supports up to 4 tuners.

Sounds interesting, but where did you see the price of $250 per tuner?

Sounds interesting, but where did you see the price of $250 per tuner?

That's roughly what the OEM's were charging for each tuner when configuring a system for purchase. Since you couldn't buy one off the shelf, it's anyone's guess as to what they'll charge (hopefully it will be cheaper). There are a bunch on ebay that go for around the same price.

She said(she will have been the 4th person to say the same thing BTW) it will cost me $1.70 per month, that it would be the only additional charge on my bill. Works for me. :)

So now you have 2 M cards, which is what I have also. I wonder how much a third M card will cost. Will they then tag on the additional outlet charge?

I am seriously thinking of getting another TiVo. The refurbished unit is only $200 now. I believe there is a 25% off subscriptions for existing customers, so a lifetime subscription will be $300. $500 plus tax for another TiVo sounds pretty good, after playing with the DCH3416 and thoroughly unimpressed by it.

She said(she will have been the 4th person to say the same thing BTW) it will cost me $1.70 per month, that it would be the only additional charge on my bill. Works for me. :)

Do you still have just limited basic, or have you added other tiers? If limited basic, that's the same as my experience when I added more CableCards (temporarily) last year.

That's roughly what the OEM's were charging for each tuner when configuring a system for purchase. Since you couldn't buy one off the shelf, it's anyone's guess as to what they'll charge (hopefully it will be cheaper). There are a bunch on ebay that go for around the same price.

You're talking about the original ATI add-on right? Engadget has pics and article about the Ceton card.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/09/10/hands-on-with-the-ceton-cablecard-tuner/

Do you still have just limited basic, or have you added other tiers? If limited basic, that's the same as my experience when I added more CableCards (temporarily) last year.

No, I upgraded to Digital Starter with their 2 year $29/$39 price deal. That along with 16/2 HSI at $29 for year puts me at $9 less per month than I was paying for just Limited Basic and 16/2-HSI - $64 vs $73 - deal was too good to turn down.

Holiday is over. Time for this weeks roll out schedule.


Thursday September 10th--- South San Francisco, Daly City, Pacifica, Broadmoor, Brisbane and Colma.


I know he said sometime after the holiday for the new schedule but this is really soon.....:p
If I find out more I'll post it here.

Laters,
Mikef5

We got the new HD channels in South San Francisco today. Thank you for keeping us informed. :D

To confirm the recent announcement:

New HD channels are up as of 8:00 am. Guide information is populated. As far as I can see by scanning the new channels, picture quality is excellent. The only glitch (I think) is that HBO (770) Starz (880) and Showtime (785) HD slots in the old scheme are still active. Duplicates are in place in the 800 channel range.

I have had to do a lot of scanning to keep up with the channel reassignments on my Mythtv (HDHomerun tuners). I can see that Comacast is using the former analog channels to carry the new programming. Channels that were in the clear are still coming in that way, though they may be on different channels.

You're talking about the original ATI add-on right? Engadget has pics and article about the Ceton card.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/09/10/hands-on-with-the-ceton-cablecard-tuner/

Yeah, I was talking about the ATI...didn't even realize Ceton had one out there. That looks pretty cool: PCI-E, 4 tuners, single M-card. If they can keep this around $300, I would seriously consider using this.

Yeah, I was talking about the ATI...didn't even realize Ceton had one out there. That looks pretty cool: PCI-E, 4 tuners, single M-card. If they can keep this around $300, I would seriously consider using this.

So would I, the next step is to see how long it will take to actually get to market. There's stuff from CEDIA '07 people are still waiting for. :D

It could be worse. They could use Ion "HD" PQ as the base standard of acceptability.

Regarding ION "HD" picture quality, I happened to see that they were going to air a show I was interested in seeing, a Canadian import called "Durham County", a sort of Twin Peaks-like thriller/mystery. Anyway, recorded the first ep last night and I have to say, it looked plain awful, at times it looked like a really bad YouTube video.

Out of curiosity I got a copy from a P2P site and played it back via the PS3. This is a 350mb file mind you, the PQ blew away the ION presentation, and in fact was much more than just acceptable, on a 73" screen I didn't see any noticeable artifacting and it was a pretty clean and crisp image.

I suspect that ION is running a cropped analog version while the one I downloaded was an HD capture from the Movie Network channel.

That's one less channel I'll have showing in my guide now. :D

Anyone seen the NFL RedZone HD channel show up in their guide anywhere? It might look something like the below,

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17165408&highlight=#post17165408

Anyone seen the NFL RedZone HD channel show up in their guide anywhere? It might look something like the below,

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17165408&highlight=#post17165408

Jim,

Channel 427, suppose to start on Sunday, shows up on both my Tivo and Comcast box. Tivo has no channel info or data info but you can view the channel. Comcast box say "off air" but you can view the channel. The problem is it's only SD :(

Laters,
Mikef5

Jim,

Channel 427, suppose to start on Sunday, shows up on both my Tivo and Comcast box. Tivo has no channel info or data info but you can view the channel. Comcast box say "off air" but you can view the channel. The problem is it's only SD :(

Laters,
Mikef5
I guess the HD version is on the same list as HBO-Signature, HBO2, HDNet and HDNet Movies. :D

New message from Tivo Today. Looks like they finally fixed the program guide data for ABC Family HD (768) and Disney HD (769). Too bad I never watch these. But I suppose it's good to know I could properly schedule recordings of Hannah Montana and Lizzie McGuire now. :rolleyes: :(

Still waiting for a fix on Showtime Too HD (826) and The Movie Channel HD (847). I've submitted line-up forms for both of these more than once.

Once they fix this, the last two Tivo channels with bad PG data will be fixed.

While watching the premiere of 300 on TNT my first instance of onscreen Caller ID came up. Nice, for the most part. There were 2 small pops I heard over my sound system before and after it came up.

I came to report the same. Caller ID is working here in San Jose too.

I came to report the Dodgers have beaten the Giants for the second day in a row. :p:D

I came to report the Dodgers have beaten the Giants for the second day in a row. :p:D

Right on!!!

I came to report the same. Caller ID is working here in San Jose too.

I missed the earlier posts. Are you saying you can display caller ID using a Comcast STB?, like the motorola DCH3416? I have Comcast digital voice, too.

I missed the earlier posts. Are you saying you can display caller ID using a Comcast STB?, like the motorola DCH3416? I have Comcast digital voice, too.

It seems you must have triple play. Digital Voice, TV and Internet. And it works in your TV and PC, there's a program you have to download for your PC.

It has a buzz option, default 1 hour, that I guess would allow you to not receive any call for that time.

And yeah, I saw that message in my TV (projector) using a DCH3416. The phone rang at the same time too, just in case anyone is wondering.

I presume that on screen caller ID will not work with Tivo or orther Cable Card devices, correct?

Question about installing.... I have existing RG6 cable in place for my current satellite system. I'll be switching to Comcast soon. Will they be running new cable or patch into the coax that my satellite is using?

If they run new cable, are they going to be lazy and drill right though my exterior wall into the interior?

Question about installing.... I have existing RG6 cable in place for my current satellite system. I'll be switching to Comcast soon. Will they be running new cable or patch into the coax that my satellite is using?

If they run new cable, are they going to be lazy and drill right though my exterior wall into the interior?

Comcast no longer will run cable through a dwelling's walls in our area, either directly or via a sub-contractor. I needed a coax cable run from our bedroom to an auxiliary bedroom last month so I could run a splitter between the rooms and CC refused to do that if it involved inside work. It was a very simple job, around 50 feet through the attic but I had to have my cabling guy come out and do it at my own expense. Apparently too much sloppy work and the subsequent damage claims led to Comcast's decision on wall fishing. They will run cable from the primary input connection if it's done on the outside of your home but, to me, that's a real crapshoot. I would have them use your existing RG-6 cable if that's possible.

I presume that on screen caller ID will not work with Tivo or orther Cable Card devices, correct?

I'd guess since you activate that feature in your Comcast box.

I came to report the Dodgers have beaten the Giants for the second day in a row. :p:D

I came to report that as long as the Dodgers continue to beat the Giants, Keenan's house will never be upgraded, the rest of Santa Rosa will be though. :D:D

Laters,
Mikef5

It seems you must have triple play. Digital Voice, TV and Internet. And it works in your TV and PC, there's a program you have to download for your PC.

It has a buzz option, default 1 hour, that I guess would allow you to not receive any call for that time.

And yeah, I saw that message in my TV (projector) using a DCH3416. The phone rang at the same time too, just in case anyone is wondering.

That feature does not work for me. I have Triple play. I went into the DCH3416's menu, and there is the iTV button. Clicked on it, and it says feature not available yet.

Does anyone in Sunnyvale or in the South Bay have that feature working? I will look into Comcast support and see if there is a PC program that displays caller ID.

That feature does not work for me. I have Triple play. I went into the DCH3416's menu, and there is the iTV button. Clicked on it, and it says feature not available yet.

Does anyone in Sunnyvale or in the South Bay have that feature working? I will look into Comcast support and see if there is a PC program that displays caller ID.
Clau,

I just checked and I have it available here in Milpitas. I think you have to have the Triple Play package to get it automatically added to your account.

Laters,
Mikef5

My DCX3400 power cycles itself often - at least once a week around 11pm. It does look like it is downloading something once it powers up.

Are the auto power cycles common? The only downside is that it takes a day or two to fully download the listings on the channel guide every time this happens.

I'm in Fremont running the 22.35 firmware.

My DCX3400 started power cycling itself everyday.

I called a CSR and they sent some sort of signal that set everything back to the factory settings.

That seemed to fix the issue.

I came to report that as long as the Dodgers continue to beat the Giants, Keenan's house will never be upgraded, the rest of Santa Rosa will be though. :D:D

Laters,
Mikef5

Very funny! Actually, I would have preferred to see the Giants get a chance to lose again against the Dodgers in the playoffs. :p

How's that RedZone channel look? People with Verzion are paying $50 a season for that channel. :eek:

From accounts in the main forum thread the RedZone channel is a hit. So it's time to find out from Mr. J when we're going to get the HD version here. I'd pay for the Sports/Entertainment addon if it was in HD, otherwise forget it.

In the thread for the Red Zone Channel this week on HDTV Programming, we've had several people complain that they are in Comcast Bay Area territory, have the sports tier, but NFLN RZC is nowhere to be found. I simply don't have the sports tier, but it's in my guide as Ch. 427.

I'm waiting for it to be HD, which I assume it might be after we (Newark) gets World of More, which will happen on a date that still has yet to be disclosed.

It doesn't show here in San Jose either, the Red Zone channel. Although I don't have the Sports tier.

RedZone is on channel 427 (Standard Def) and working in San Fran (subscribe to Sports tier already). Great concept & highlights, well worth it, just wish it was in HD. I haven't been able to find an HD channel version yet.

Very funny! Actually, I would have preferred to see the Giants get a chance to lose again against the Dodgers in the playoffs. :p

How's that RedZone channel look? People with Verzion are paying $50 a season for that channel. :eek:

From accounts in the main forum thread the RedZone channel is a hit. So it's time to find out from Mr. J when we're going to get the HD version here. I'd pay for the Sports/Entertainment addon if it was in HD, otherwise forget it.

I love seeing the Dodgers and Giants games, they love screwing each others season. The way the Giant's are playing right now, their chances of getting into the Wild Card is getting slimmer. Looks like I'll be rooting for the Dodgers in the playoffs :eek:;).

As far as the Red Zone, I'm underwhelmed !!
IT"S SD, so I'll probably never watch it. I'll check with Mr. J. Monday to see if it's ever going to show up in HD here in the Bay Area.

Laters,
Mikef5

I love seeing the Dodgers and Giants games, they love screwing each others season. The way the Giant's are playing right now, their chances of getting into the Wild Card is getting slimmer. Looks like I'll be rooting for the Dodgers in the playoffs :eek:;).

As far as the Red Zone, I'm underwhelmed !!
IT"S SD, so I'll probably never watch it. I'll check with Mr. J. Monday to see if it's ever going to show up in HD here in the Bay Area.

Laters,
Mikef5

Yeah, the HD version is really the only one that would be worth the extra $$.

I have this sneaky suspicion though that because of all the 750Mhz systems we have here that what we get with this latest rollout/addition is all we're going to see for quite awhile. My guess is those 750 systems have to be running very low on room even with the analog reclamation.

Is this the same Red Zone Channel that's on DirecTV 703 (has a RZC logo bottom right, white letters on red background)?

Am I the only person in SJ who doesn't have channel 427? What's going on?

What are some of the other common systems that run out there besides 750mhz? Are there 1000mhz bandwidth systems? Greater?

I imagine replacing a 750mhz system w/ something carrying more BW would be a huge undertaking. I think cabling in peoples houses and splitters would even have to be replaced (the one I have goes to 1000mhz, but I imagine most peoples splitters are 750mhz, etc).

Another thing they could do as I said b4 is go to a more efficient codec like MPEG4, but of course that'd probably involve upgrading tons of cable boxes, etc. And in the end it'd only save you so much over MPEG2.

Personally I'm waiting for FiOS to come into my area. :p

Is this the same Red Zone Channel that's on DirecTV 703 (has a RZC logo bottom right, white letters on red background)?

I haven't seen it, but it's a whole different production done by the NFL themselves. The DirecTV version is created by DirecTV. That said, apparently they are very similar.

Am I the only person in SJ who doesn't have channel 427? What's going on?


I don't have it either.

I don't think it's available in SJ right now.

That feature does not work for me. I have Triple play. I went into the DCH3416's menu, and there is the iTV button. Clicked on it, and it says feature not available yet.

Interesting. Although I'm not in your area, when I first heard of the feature I did the same thing and got the same result. I hadn't turned it on but it still came up yesterday.

I don't have it either.

I don't think it's available in SJ right now.


Looks like San Jose won't be getting it unitil "World of More" launches there. I know a couple of people on the board have said they've gotten fliers that indicated it was coming the week of Oct 6.

What are some of the other common systems that run out there besides 750mhz? Are there 1000mhz bandwidth systems? Greater?
There are 750, 860 and 1000MHz systems in the bay area. There shouldn't be any 550 systems left. Santa Rosa happens to be a 1000MHz system, although in any bay area system 860 is the highest they go for video. The installed base of STBs only tunes up to 860MHz.

I imagine replacing a 750mhz system w/ something carrying more BW would be a huge undertaking. I think cabling in peoples houses and splitters would even have to be replaced (the one I have goes to 1000mhz, but I imagine most peoples splitters are 750mhz, etc).
It would be quite a job, especially since a lot of these installs were done by TCI/AT&T and they're junk.
Another thing they could do as I said b4 is go to a more efficient codec like MPEG4, but of course that'd probably involve upgrading tons of cable boxes, etc. And in the end it'd only save you so much over MPEG2.
MPEG4 would save a tremendous amount of room and enable Comcast to supply every HD channel in existence, it would even allow them to provide packages like MLBEI with all the HD feeds instead of the pathetic, worthless offering they have now. MPEG4 is not going to happen for a long time though, I'd be surprised if it happens within the next 5 years.
Personally I'm waiting for FiOS to come into my area. :p

You'll be waiting a long, long, long time for FiOS in this area. :D

We were getting SPEED HD as part of the Digital tier we're on (Classic or Plus, one of the lower-tier digital packages). This weekend I noticed that we no longer get SPEED. Did Comcast decide to charge extra for it all of a sudden? I did notice a mention of $2.99/mo for SPEED elsewhere on this thread, which would suck since I only want it for the occasional Formula 1 race.

Yeah, I was getting Speed HD for "free" too. If I remember correctly, the speed channel was always part of the Sports tier, for some reason it was "free" for some time for people in the digital tier.
I guess they just found out about that.

Comcast no longer will run cable through a dwelling's walls in our area, either directly or via a sub-contractor. I needed a coax cable run from our bedroom to an auxiliary bedroom last month so I could run a splitter between the rooms and CC refused to do that if it involved inside work. It was a very simple job, around 50 feet through the attic but I had to have my cabling guy come out and do it at my own expense. Apparently too much sloppy work and the subsequent damage claims led to Comcast's decision on wall fishing. They will run cable from the primary input connection if it's done on the outside of your home but, to me, that's a real crapshoot. I would have them use your existing RG-6 cable if that's possible.

Maybe it's time to install structured wiring. Two stories houses are kind of messy but if you have a single story with attic and crawlspace. I would buy some structured wire from somebody like hometech in cupertino and fish it to all the rooms from underneath. It's really not hard to do unless your getting up their in age. Hometech will show you how to do it all.

Now that I have a patch panel, I have switched between Comcast, Dish, and Direct TV multiple times. I even had them simultaneously for a while. All I had to do was go to the patch and decide which coax jack in my house was connected to which service provider.

The new NFL RedZone channel is fantastic. Hopefully it's included in the expanded HD package expected to arrive 10/5 in my area.

Does anyone know what the impetus was for the creation of the channel? For those us on Comcast, we're even less likely to switch to DirecTV since this channel is going to be showing all the key plays of all the games on Sunday's. I've got to think this severely undercuts the growth of the costly NFL package on DirecTV.

Looks like San Jose won't be getting it unitil "World of More" launches there. I know a couple of people on the board have said they've gotten fliers that indicated it was coming the week of Oct 6.

Boo. It seems quite deceptive that they'd advertise the Sports Entertainment Package, headlined by and basically featuring RedZone, and then not show it. Not that I'm utterly surprised by Comcast doing this but still...

You'll be waiting a long, long, long time for FiOS in this area. :D
Why is that? They're getting it down in SoCal.

Yeh I also remember TCI and AT&T. Had 'em for a few years until Comcast took over.

RedZone is on channel 427 (Standard Def) and working in San Fran (subscribe to Sports tier already). Great concept & highlights, well worth it, just wish it was in HD. I haven't been able to find an HD channel version yet.

Same here in Vallejo. This needs to be in HD to be worth paying for. It's a great concept and the execution appears to be very good but SD is death for PQ and the delays that the cable boxes/DVRs usually suffer from when shifting from HD to SD and vice versa.

Why is that? They're getting it down in SoCal.

Yeh I also remember TCI and AT&T. Had 'em for a few years until Comcast took over.

Verizon and AT&T don't(usually) overbuild each other's territory, and the bay area is AT&T territory.

The new NFL RedZone channel is fantastic. Hopefully it's included in the expanded HD package expected to arrive 10/5 in my area.

Does anyone know what the impetus was for the creation of the channel? For those us on Comcast, we're even less likely to switch to DirecTV since this channel is going to be showing all the key plays of all the games on Sunday's. I've got to think this severely undercuts the growth of the costly NFL package on DirecTV.

This all happened when DirecTV got the extension of exclusive NFL ST. As part of that deal (and the deals with FOX/CBS), NFL would be allowed to have it's own Red Zone Channel.

DirecTV's NFL ST revenue is not primarily made up of hardcore football fans who will watch any team, it's made up of fans who move away from their home area but still want to watch their team every week. If you are in that boat, you still go with DirecTV no matter what.

For the NFL, this is simply additional revenue from a source that will never go to DirecTV (because presumably those fans live in their home team area and have no primary reason for NFL ST).

Woot! Got another update today from Tivo!

FINALLY, they've fixed the last two broken PG channels. Today they updated
Showtime Too and The Movie Channel HD. They flipped the timezones from Eastern to Pacific, now it's right!

SHO2HD -> SHO2PHD (826)
TMCHD -> TMCHDP (847)

Only took two months. :rolleyes:

But I'm happy now that it all just works.

THE END of the "saga" (lol) ... I hope. :D

Anyone noticing a sporadic stuttering audio on the NBC-KNTV football broadcast? It sounds like someone rolling their r's. I'm not noticing it on the commercials, only the program itself.

Anyone noticing a sporadic stuttering audio on the NBC-KNTV football broadcast? It sounds like someone rolling their r's. I'm not noticing it on the commercials, only the program itself.
I didn't notice it. Was watching it on 702 KNTVHD, Comcast, in Santa Clara.

I didn't notice it. Was watching it on 702 KNTVHD, Comcast, in Santa Clara.

It only happens every once in awhile, especially with Collinsworth's voice.

I didn't notice it. Was watching it on 702 KNTVHD, Comcast, in Santa Clara.

You meant 703 right ?? 702 is Fox not NBC.

Laters,
Mikef5

You meant 703 right ?? 702 is Fox not NBC.

Laters,
Mikef5
Nope. 9ers game was on Fox. Oh wait. Are we talking about 9ers vs. Arizona Cardinals? I presumed Keenan was talking about the same game. I even said KNTV because I thought we were talking about the same game, but it was Fox HD.

EDIT: AH you must be talking about the Bears vs. Packers game that's on KNTV-HD right now. Yep. I'm watching it through the Tivo, and I hear the distortion/stuttering. I also just heard it during an Apple ad. I'm going to flip to it OTA and see if I hear it there.

EDIT2: OK. I had both 11-1 OTA and 703 Comcast via the Tivo up on PIP on my TV, flipping between the two. I noticed the distortion on the Comcast feed. It seems like it was some sort of clipping. I also noticed that the OTA broadcast was much louder than the Comcast feed. I also noticed a bit of a sort of click/stutter thing on the OTA, but very infrequently. Much less so than the Comcast feed.

My theory is that KNTV has the audio output boosted too high, and Comcast's processing of that audio into whatever they send down the cable line is causing some sort of clipping to happen in the audio stream.

FYI: Also, as is typical from what I've noticed doing this before (side by side PIP), the OTA picture is brighter. The Comcast picture is darker, and in some colors has a bit more contrast. It's as if they're doing some sort of black level increase filter, or contrast filter on it. Perhaps bumping the color saturation a bit too. Not sure what I like better. Often the colors on Comcast are more pleasing to the eye ... richer ... but it also seems to lose some detail. For instance, in closeups of the players on the OTA picture, I can see more of the scuffs and scratches on the players' helmets, on Comcast, they blend in more.

(Note: I've done this sort of comparison before, and noticed the same. I'm also careful to make sure that the per-input picture settings are identical for OTA and the HDMI input from the Tivo. Additionally, I see almost no discernible difference between the Tivo and the cable box [Moto DCH-3200], even though the cable box is fed via component).

Xn0r, thanks for confirming that I wasn't just imagining it, or there was something wrong with the drive upgrades I just completed on both TiVos. You're description is right on, pops and clicks along with warbling dialog. I suspect that the encoders at KNTV need to be reset, it's happened many times in the past and that's usually the answer.

Regarding the loudness on KNTV/NBC, was it during the game, or during commercials and local content? NBC/KNTV is actually doing the audio correctly, it's the other stations in this market that are running too loud and too compressed.

NBC audio makes use of a wider dynamic range and that's why on the network programming, like the football game tonight, the volume seems low. That's probably because you've adjusted the gain during the very loud commercial breaks. If you adjust the gain during the program to a normal listening level, the audio during that program will have a large dynamic range, greater than any of the majors in this market. I can recall several scenes in many NBC programs last year where the audio has blown me away, huge range between the very soft and the very loud, very engaging, much like a good soundtrack via Blu-ray. KPIX/CBS is really bad, it's loud, but it's loud because they've compressed the hell out it and uses a very small dynamic range.

This is all covered and explained with an understanding of Dolby Labs Dialnorm function. (http://www.dolby.com/professional/pro_audio_engineering/solutions_broadcastloudness.html)

Well, later today, I'm not sure at what time, but it was around the 49ers game time, NFL Redzone became available here in San Jose.

427 is now showing in all my Comcast boxes here. Since I don't have the Sports tier I wasn't able to check it.

Xn0r, thanks for confirming that I wasn't just imagining it, or there was something wrong with the drive upgrades I just completed on both TiVos. You're description is right on, pops and clicks along with warbling dialog. I suspect that the encoders at KNTV need to be reset, it's happened many times in the past and that's usually the answer.

Regarding the loudness on KNTV/NBC, was it during the game, or during commercials and local content? NBC/KNTV is actually doing the audio correctly, it's the other stations in this market that are running too loud and too compressed.

NBC audio makes use of a wider dynamic range and that's why on the network programming, like the football game tonight, the volume seems low. That's probably because you've adjusted the gain during the very loud commercial breaks. If you adjust the gain during the program to a normal listening level, the audio during that program will have a large dynamic range, greater than any of the majors in this market. I can recall several scenes in many NBC programs last year where the audio has blown me away, huge range between the very soft and the very loud, very engaging, much like a good soundtrack via Blu-ray. KPIX/CBS is really bad, it's loud, but it's loud because they've compressed the hell out it and uses a very small dynamic range.

This is all covered and explained with an understanding of Dolby Labs Dialnorm function. (http://www.dolby.com/professional/pro_audio_engineering/solutions_broadcastloudness.html)
It was loud during both the game and commercials. Note that it was the OTA signal (11-1) which was loud, not the Comcast signal (703), for KNTV. I didn't notice an appreciable change of volume between the commercials and game on OTA. The Comcast signal was just way lower in volume, and I heard a bunch of the little warbles, etc, fairly often.

In order for the Comcast (coming through the Tivo) version to be as loud as the OTA, I would have to turn my TV volume up a lot more, about 1/4 the width of my volume bar on the TV. I imagine this is all due to the conversion process happening at Comcast.

I suppose it could also have to do with the Tivo's output of audio over HDMI compared to the TV's built in ATSC tuner. I'll have to test to see if the same relationship is true for different channels OTA vs. Comcast/Tivo. Note that all the audio settings are the same for both inputs (bass/treble, etc).

Actually KNTV or NBC has that audio stuttering problem a lot. I was watching SNL last night and it's really noticeable. My guess is it's some sort of transmission problem, causing what sounds almost like a scratched CD.

It was loud during both the game and commercials. Note that it was the OTA signal (11-1) which was loud, not the Comcast signal (703), for KNTV. I didn't notice an appreciable change of volume between the commercials and game on OTA. The Comcast signal was just way lower in volume, and I heard a bunch of the little warbles, etc, fairly often.

In order for the Comcast (coming through the Tivo) version to be as loud as the OTA, I would have to turn my TV volume up a lot more, about 1/4 the width of my volume bar on the TV. I imagine this is all due to the conversion process happening at Comcast.

I suppose it could also have to do with the Tivo's output of audio over HDMI compared to the TV's built in ATSC tuner. I'll have to test to see if the same relationship is true for different channels OTA vs. Comcast/Tivo. Note that all the audio settings are the same for both inputs (bass/treble, etc).

There shouldn't be much processing done here by Comcast. They take the signal before it goes to the transmitter in native MPEG2 format and then just frame it and modulate it for QAM transmission on the fiber ring. So there is really not format conversion going on, at least for the HD channel.

Was there any stuttering or macroblocking going on? There could be a problem with the microwave or fiber link from Sutro to the rest of the Comcast that is resulting in some bit errors in the transmission. generally this is more obvious on the audio channel, but if it's a decent amount of errors then you should see it on the video as well.

The video was perfect. Whatever the processing Comcast does or doesn't do, on my TV it looks noticeably different from OTA.

This is comparing the output from my Tivo box, or my Moto DCH-3200, which is fed from the same cable (obviously) to the same TV. There's also a noticeable delay (about 1-2s) between the OTA signal and the signal coming through the cable box.

I always figured this had to do with the conversion process at Comcast to take the signal source from the TV station and toss it down their HFC network for the cable boxen.

But obviously there are more variables involved. Perhaps the TV's internal ATSC tuner and associated processes of putting the video on the screen and sound through the speakers does it differently somehow than when it's pulling that video source from HDMI (Tivo) or Component video (DCH-3200). But this is somewhat doubtful to me as the reason for the video differences.

Are you sure that Comcast does no processing aside from "reframing"? I mean, it's "logical" that they'd take an MPEG2 source and not do much to it, since they're sending MPEG2 down the HFC. But it doesn't mean that's what they're actually doing. Maybe they're transcoding to make it look better. Or to tweak the params of the MPEG2 to get more compression out of it. Or whatever. :P We've already seen examples of them messing with the video (SyFy channel, etc) and changing it from the source, based on observations of PQ.

I'm pretty certain it's a problem with the KNTV encoder, likely needing to be reset.

Since KNTV is at San Bruno Mtn and not Sutro Tower I'm not sure how Comcast gets the signal, but I doubt it's anything that Comcast is doing.

What amazes me is how this sort of thing can go on for so long before anyone at the station notices it. Although, you would have to be listening to the digital audio portion of the signal to hear it and who knows, first, if a human actually monitors the signal(primetime NBC on KNTV is basically run completely out of Burbank), and second, if they even have a DD decoder for that human who might be monitoring to hear the digital audio.

Clau,

I just checked and I have it available here in Milpitas. I think you have to have the Triple Play package to get it automatically added to your account.

Laters,
Mikef5

Happy to report that Caller ID is now working on my PC as well as the Moto DCH-3416. They had to manually add that feature in my account settings, even though I have Triple Play. Then a day later, the feature starts to work correctly, even though they said that my area does not have that feature yet.

The video was perfect. Whatever the processing Comcast does or doesn't do, on my TV it looks noticeably different from OTA.

This is comparing the output from my Tivo box, or my Moto DCH-3200, which is fed from the same cable (obviously) to the same TV. There's also a noticeable delay (about 1-2s) between the OTA signal and the signal coming through the cable box.

I always figured this had to do with the conversion process at Comcast to take the signal source from the TV station and toss it down their HFC network for the cable boxen.

But obviously there are more variables involved. Perhaps the TV's internal ATSC tuner and associated processes of putting the video on the screen and sound through the speakers does it differently somehow than when it's pulling that video source from HDMI (Tivo) or Component video (DCH-3200). But this is somewhat doubtful to me as the reason for the video differences.

Are you sure that Comcast does no processing aside from "reframing"? I mean, it's "logical" that they'd take an MPEG2 source and not do much to it, since they're sending MPEG2 down the HFC. But it doesn't mean that's what they're actually doing. Maybe they're transcoding to make it look better. Or to tweak the params of the MPEG2 to get more compression out of it. Or whatever. :P We've already seen examples of them messing with the video (SyFy channel, etc) and changing it from the source, based on observations of PQ.

All of the "3-pack" processing is done at HITS in Denver. The systems in the field don't do that kind of processing on Broadcast, though they do on VoD, but user better equipment anyway.

I am pretty sure they aren't doing transcoding on the stream, but I am less familiar with how the transmission hookup works with KNTV since they aren't at sutro. It could be that KNTV is using different encoders for their OTA signal compared with how they feed comcast and the DBS providers (which route the data to a different set of facilities in Colorado for uplink as a DBS local). This is consistent with Keenan's assertion, but is inconsistent with the Sutro set up at least as far as the last time I talked with someone about it.

Yeah I meant to mention that KNTV is on San Bruno mountain, not Sutro. Well, their transmitter is. I'm not sure if the cable company would get its feed from there, or right from the studios. I guess the transmission points make sense, since it would allow them to tap multiple local station's feeds at a single point and relay it back to their own facilities.

And yeh, lots of variables as I said. As you say, the OTA feed may be different than the one they give Comcast, and explain the differences.

Thing is, I see the same differences regardless of the OTA channel vs. Comcast channel. All of the local channels have the same picture differences, and sound differences (IIRC).

I did a bunch of OTA/Comcast side by side PIP comparison a while back to try to determine if Comcast was degrading the PQ, or if OTA was the "best quality you can get" as is claimed by some. I found that aside from the color differences described, the OTA and Comcast feeds of the same channels here were pretty much the same in PQ. In some cases, I liked Comcast's richer colors were more pleasing to the eye than the more "raw" look of OTA.

Heh. I should take some pictures of it w/ my 20d so u guys can look at it.

MikeF5,

How's the rollout schedule look this week?

Yeah I meant to mention that KNTV is on San Bruno mountain, not Sutro. Well, their transmitter is. I'm not sure if the cable company would get its feed from there, or right from the studios. I guess the transmission points make sense, since it would allow them to tap multiple local station's feeds at a single point and relay it back to their own facilities.

And yeh, lots of variables as I said. As you say, the OTA feed may be different than the one they give Comcast, and explain the differences.

Thing is, I see the same differences regardless of the OTA channel vs. Comcast channel. All of the local channels have the same picture differences, and sound differences (IIRC).

I did a bunch of OTA/Comcast side by side PIP comparison a while back to try to determine if Comcast was degrading the PQ, or if OTA was the "best quality you can get" as is claimed by some. I found that aside from the color differences described, the OTA and Comcast feeds of the same channels here were pretty much the same in PQ. In some cases, I liked Comcast's richer colors were more pleasing to the eye than the more "raw" look of OTA.

Heh. I should take some pictures of it w/ my 20d so u guys can look at it.

A more scientific approach would be to record the same program at the same time from both OTA and from QAM and see how different the file sizes are. Any appreciable amount of processing would show up in the programs stats.

This is how the 3-pack processing was discovered in the first place.

Maybe Mikef5 can ask Mr. J about how they get the feeds and why things might appear differently.

:(

I recorded the special show that was going to present the fall schedule in NBC, the one at 9:30 pm, and found out that the didn't show it. It was a local show talking about water resources or something like that. Well, at least it was in HD. :D

And I guess the Football game ran late in the East and that's why they didn't show that program.

A more scientific approach would be to record the same program at the same time from both OTA and from QAM and see how different the file sizes are. Any appreciable amount of processing would show up in the programs stats.

This is how the 3-pack processing was discovered in the first place.

Maybe Mikef5 can ask Mr. J about how they get the feeds and why things might appear differently.
Yeh unfortunately my Tivo isn't hooked up to an antenna ATM. My OTA is a bit sketchy because I'm just using a Terk HDTVa indoors. I recently did an experiment where I ran it out a window into my front balcony/deck and sat it on the railing. I got waaaay better reception, and got KGO-7 back which I had lost after they went back to VHF.

So, before I hook it up to the Tivo, I'm going to have to get an outdoor antenna set up, which is a bit challenging in an apartment. Mostly because of the need to run a cable out to the balcony without winding up up owing the apt complex for the "damage". :p

If I recall correctly, one of the KNTV station engineers said they feed Comcast channels 3 and 703 by fiber direct from the station's master control room. An MPEG stream capture should be substantially the same on 703 and 11-1. This was on the HDTV-in-SFbay Yahoo group. Also, they have previously had problems with their MPEG encoders which have shown up the same way on 703 and 11-1.

- Mike

Heh regardless, it's visibly different. At least on my TV (which as I said, could be the issue ... it could just be that OTA looks different on my TV [Olevia 242T FHD] for whatever reason).

From the main forum Comcast thread,

I anyone had any doubts about Comcast encrypting the Expanded Basic digital channels, there is no doubt anymore, Expanded Basic digital channels will be encrypted on Comcast cable TV systems.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009860393_brier14.html

From Keenan's link:


A four-tuner version is coming first, in early 2010, on prebuilt PCs and as an add-on PCIe card. Spokesman Ed Graczyk said the per-tuner price will be competitive with current devices that cost around $250.

That's not cheap, but neither is $22 per month for additional Comcast HD DVRs in a house with several TVs.

From Keenan's link:

I saw that and I can't believe they're asking $250 per tuner, I don't understand that pricing. Is he saying a 4-tuner card will cost $1000?

^^
Lame, lame, lame....

It would be such a rip-off if it came out at $1,000. Even at $500 it would be a ripoff.

^^
Lame, lame, lame....

It would be such a rip-off if it came out at $1,000. Even at $500 it would be a ripoff.

Isn't it though? What are they thinking with that pricing? You could get 2 TiVos with around $400 left over for subscriptions for that much money.

Question about installing.... I have existing RG6 cable in place for my current satellite system. I'll be switching to Comcast soon. Will they be running new cable or patch into the coax that my satellite is using?

If they run new cable, are they going to be lazy and drill right though my exterior wall into the interior?
They will use the existing cables. As long as you are only using Comcast it should work fine - they don't work well together on the same lines.

Anyone noticing a sporadic stuttering audio on the NBC-KNTV football broadcast? It sounds like someone rolling their r's. I'm not noticing it on the commercials, only the program itself.If you mean sunday night, it was a-ok on DirecTV fwiw.

Anyone noticing a sporadic stuttering audio on the NBC-KNTV football broadcast? It sounds like someone rolling their r's. I'm not noticing it on the commercials, only the program itself.
i have noticed this kind of audio issue with KNTV, both OTA and via comcast, for months. any isolated voice (eg listen to conan o'brien) can sound a little messed up, and the real test is any kind of piano music. no joke. every time an apple iphone ad comes on with that same piano song it sounds like hell.

i suppose it's possible that in a metro area of 6 million people no one has bothered to inform KNTV their audio sounds bad. but i figured it was more likely to be my AVR or some such. now your post makes me think i'm not alone.

Price increases coming?

Price increases coming?

When haven't price increases been coming? :)

I've never seen my bill go down unless I've called to get a promotion...

Really, don't they always go up? Comcast is recession proof, they raise prices and people continue to pay them, 43% in 6 years in Santa Rosa per the local paper.

That is one advantage to going with some of those promos, you're not affected by those price increases, it stays at whatever you signed up for.

i have noticed this kind of audio issue with KNTV, both OTA and via comcast, for months. any isolated voice (eg listen to conan o'brien) can sound a little messed up, and the real test is any kind of piano music. no joke. every time an apple iphone ad comes on with that same piano song it sounds like hell.

i suppose it's possible that in a metro area of 6 million people no one has bothered to inform KNTV their audio sounds bad. but i figured it was more likely to be my AVR or some such. now your post makes me think i'm not alone.

I sent an email to KNTV, I'd say there's a 50/50 chance it will accomplish anything. If it doesn't work then I'll try tracking down the retired KNTV engineer who posts on the local Yahoo BBS, although I haven't seen him post in awhile.

I think last year limited basic actually went down by about $1.

It did here as well, it's been going up and down for years, it's actually going up this year. It's the bigger packages that are getting the big moves in pricing.

According to this SJ Mercury news article, it's actually the lower end packages
that will see the substantial increases....
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_13336918

According to this SJ Mercury news article, it's actually the lower end packages
that will see the substantial increases....
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_13336918

Yes, you're right, the paper here says pretty much the same thing, I just skimmed it and didn't read the details - in the past it's usually been the larger packages, I guess they're taking up the slack at the bottom end this time around.

One thing is certain, Comcast will always raise prices overall, every year. It's interesting that the service they have virtually no competition with, internet service, they didn't raise any prices. There's always next time. :D

They have competition for ISP stuff from DSL, U-verse, etc, etc. Eventually FiOS. One advantage they'll soon have is IPv6.

They have competition for ISP stuff from DSL, U-verse, etc, etc. Eventually FiOS. One advantage they'll soon have is IPv6.

DSL is relatively slow compared to cable broadband, usually topping out at around 5mbps in my experience. I know there's some bonding options from providers like Sonic, but I don't know how much coverage they have. U-verse has a long ways to go when it comes to coverage. Comcast has 2.2 million subs in the bay area, I doubt U-verse even passes a 1/10 of those homes currently. As I noted before, it's highly unlikely we'll ever see FiOS here as long as AT&T is the incumbent telco in the area.

Don't know a lot about IPv6, but presumably the advantages would apply to both telco and cable.

DSL is relatively slow compared to cable broadband, usually topping out at around 5mbps in my experience. I know there's some bonding options from providers like Sonic, but I don't know how much coverage they have. U-verse has a long ways to go when it comes to coverage. Comcast has 2.2 million subs in the bay area, I doubt U-verse even passes a 1/10 of those homes currently. As I noted before, it's highly unlikely we'll ever see FiOS here as long as AT&T is the incumbent telco in the area.

Don't know a lot about IPv6, but presumably the advantages would apply to both telco and cable.
Yeh, but DSL is "good enough" for a lot of people, and often cheaper. And ADSL2 is pretty fast, although not as fast as DOCSIS3, but again plenty fast for most people.

I've also found DSL to be far more reliable as far as continuous uptime, and dropped packets, etc, than cable.

And DSL also typically offers static IPs, which I need. Comcast business offers them now too, but they're a bit spendy (way more than my DSL, which gives me 8 statics for $52/m).

Comcast has announced plans for IPv6. Unfortunately a lot of DSL providers haven't, including mine (DSLExtreme). I'm not sure about the Telco based DSL providers, but from what I've read so far, Comcast is way ahread in this department. Part of DOCSIS 3.0 was to provide extra functionality for IPv6 (mostly provisioning stuff), not just the extra speed.

So, I don't really presume anything about DSL and IPv6 at this point. A lot of ISPs don't seem to be taking IPv4 exhaustion seriously, or taking initiative to get ahead on the IPv6 game. Right now I get my connectivity via a 6in4 tunnel through HE.

Actually, I have been happy with Comcast prices. I pay less than $100 a month for the Triple Play package, for 12 months. I have excellent internet speeds, free HBO, $1 Showtime, 2 cable cards and a HD-DVR from this promotion. It's hard for me to go back to DSL because I have two kids away from home who want to watch stuff on my TiVo, and they are getting fairly consistent 2 Mbps for streaming videos.

I figure in 12 months, I need to find some other promotion from Comcast, and probably drop HBO, Showtime and the DCH3416. But it is good while it lasts.

With the IPv6 rollout if your cable modem supports it your router and PC's wouldn't need to in order to work, right?

Just curious.

With the IPv6 rollout if your cable modem supports it your router and PC's wouldn't need to in order to work, right?

Just curious.
If you're running Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Linux, BSD, or most other *nixes, you already have IPv6 support. That is, pretty much any operating system has support, and has had it for years now actually.

The router would have to support it. Likely the DOCSIS 3 cable modem they give you would have IPv6 routing capabilities. If you use a 3rd party router, you'd have to enable IPv6, upgrade the firmware, or replace it depending on its support.

What I'm curious about is how they will deploy it. The addressing they'll give end users, how IPv6 addresses will be provisioned, etc. It's a lot more complicated than IPv4. With IPv4 they only need to assign a single IPv4 address to the outside of your router, and rely on your internal LAN using RFC1918s and the router doing NAT for you. They don't need to really care what's going on behind your router. For IPv6, depending on the template they come up with on how it's deployed to end users, it could be a lot more complicated.

Someone forget to tell the Roberts family there is a recession going on? Or do they have their hearts set on a larger yacht? Raising rates will simply drive more people to alternatives. Cable TV for the rich and DVDs for the rest of us.

highly[/i] unlikely we'll ever see FiOS here as long as AT&T is the incumbent telco in the area.


I'll go one step further and say we'll never see it. Even Verizon territory in the Bay Area, parts of Los Gatos and Morgan Hill, aren't getting FIOS because Verizon doesn't think it would get enough FIOS subs in those areas.

If you want FTTP in the Bay Area you need to find a Pulte Home (SFR and Townhomes) development that has Paxio. You can find it in tiny parts [specific subdivisions] in Santa Clara (Doesn't it suck to live so close to FTTP but not have it?), San Jose, Emeryville, and Brentwood. Maybe one in Sunnyvale and one in Oakland (and one in Palo Alto).

http://www.paxio.com/

If I move within the Bay Area, I might very well try to find a home that has Paxio. 100 Mbps up/100 Mbps down, no caps, for $94.50 is a ridiculously good deal.

Will caller ID work on the DCT-6200?

http://www.paxio.com/

If I move within the Bay Area, I might very well try to find a home that has Paxio. 100 Mbps up/100 Mbps down, no caps, for $94.50 is a ridiculously good deal.
OMG. $48/m for 20/20, $75 for 50/50!? And $5 per IP for statics!? DO WANT.

That means Brentwood, Emeryville, Mountain View, Oakland, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale.

Just a heads up, but Sharks on CSN California is now official, and the network schedule for the upcoming season is now available:

http://www.csnbayarea.com/pages/landing?span-stylecolor-rgb255-0-0-Comcast-Sport=1&blockID=75533&feedID=2539

Will caller ID work on the DCT-6200?

Yes it will. That's the cable box I have.

There's also a Java-based app that you can download and run on your PC/Mac that does the caller ID as well.

Who uses landlines anymore? :p

When all of the major cell providers decide to make your street the ultimate "black hole" of coverage, you kind of have no choice. :D

Yeah, I can see where that might be a problem! :D

Who uses landlines anymore? :preally. A bit off topic but Sprint's new feature "Anymobile" ... free calls to/from any mobile phone to ANYBODY's carrier, not just Sprint's.... makes me not want to use the house phone ever again.

This weeks schedule for the next areas to get the new channels


9/21----Castro Valley
9/25----Fairfield & Travis Air Force Base

Kind of sparse but it's moving right along but we should see some bigger things coming down the line soon ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

This weeks schedule for the next areas to get the new channels


9/21----Castro Valley
9/25----Fairfield & Travis Air Force Base

Kind of sparse but it's moving right along but we should see some bigger things coming down the line soon ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

Bigger "things", or bigger rollout areas?

Who uses landlines anymore? :p
I guess I'm sort of old fashioned, but I like the idea of having a landline. The telcos built a lot of redundancy into the landlines that cells and IP telephony just doesn't have.

Plus, I have DSL. so I need to keep my landline.

My friend in Petaluma has triple play (voice, cable, internet) and I noticed caller ID working (on the TV screen) the other day. He's got one of those newer DVR boxes with the flat silver/black face. Does that count as a "land" line if it comes thru the cable TV? :)

Oh yeah in other news, his wife's laptop blew up and when she got a new one she couldn't remember her Wifi password (WPA) guess what, Comcast wanted to charge her $40 to reset the wifi router .. Can you believe it? Took me 30 seconds on google to find the default password and reset the stupid thing. So lame.

Is anybody in Mountain View receiving 717 WGN-HD ?

Did something happen to the NBC HD channel? I'm on channel 11-1, but it's not in HD.

Did something happen to the NBC HD channel? I'm on channel 11-1, but it's not in HD.

no problem in Mountain View

Anyone else have a total outage in the South Bay?

Both my Tivo and my cable box has lost signal. Called Comcast and they say "There's an outage in your area."

I didn't note the exact time, but it was during Conan when Megan Fox was on.

I'm glad I get NBC and CBS OTA. :p

EDIT: Also, if Comcast has a place to check on system status on their web site, I can't find it.

Anyone else have a total outage in the South Bay?

Both my Tivo and my cable box has lost signal. Called Comcast and they say "There's an outage in your area."

I didn't note the exact time, but it was during Conan when Megan Fox was on.

I'm glad I get NBC and CBS OTA. :p

EDIT: Also, if Comcast has a place to check on system status on their web site, I can't find it.
Try the below link.

http://online.comcast.net/networkhealth/outagecheck.aspx

Try the below link.

http://online.comcast.net/networkhealth/outagecheck.aspx

"Please sign in to see local Network Health messages."

And you can't if you don't have comcast high speed internet service. :rolleyes:

"Please sign in to see local Network Health messages."

And you can't if you don't have comcast high speed internet service. :rolleyes:

You'll have to have somebody in your area with HSI check the page, it will only show me my area when I check it.

You'll have to have somebody in your area with HSI check the page, it will only show me my area when I check it.

My guess is that their internet service is probably down. So they couldn't even if they wanted to.

/me pats his DSL :D

What frequency is the On Demand (1) channel on?

My Moto DCH3416 fails to show the On Demand page. It was working several days ago, and now I get error 4. Chatted online, and they sent out a message to the box, but 8 hours later, On Demand still has the same symptom. Just wondering if there is anything in my wiring that may cause a problem with that channel. TIA.

I got an e-mail this morning from Comcast saying that it has just initiated the increased Internet speed in my area and to power cycle my cable modem. I thought that had been done awhile back and can't really see much difference in actual speed (once the Power Boost hit dissipates). I'm not sure about whether this "development" has any bearing on the World of More roll out. I suspect that it doesn't and all of the analogue channels are still hanging around.

How long is KNTV's contract to carry Giants games? Is this the last season, hopefully? The broadcast tonight looks like crap, it looks like crap for even a SD broadcast. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that the program info they send to the EPG companies indicates the game will be in HD when clearly it's not.

KNTV still hasn't fixed their audio problems either... what a crappy operation.

How long is KNTV's contract to carry Giants games? Is this the last season, hopefully? The broadcast tonight looks like crap, it looks like crap for even a SD broadcast. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that the program info they send to the EPG companies indicates the game will be in HD when clearly it's not.

KNTV still hasn't fixed their audio problems either... what a crappy operation.

But the final score was displayed very nicely :D
You had to know I'd have to say that, it's a requirement for a Giant's fan to do when we play the Dodgers ;).

One good thing the picture tomorrow will be much better.... Oh wait, it's on the Fox network with it's pseudo (wide screen SD ) HD. You just can't win for losing. I guess we can only hope for the same outcome in tomorrow's game that we had in tonight's game.

Laters,
Mikef5

I didn't have any sound problems on D*. Picture was of course, medium-Def at best..

The game won't be on TV at all Saturday (Fox rule). Radio only.

@keenan: KNTV on Comcast was getting loads of audio drops during Fallon tonight. So it's not just you.

KNTV audio is fine on Directv, at least during the NFL and Giants games I've watched in the last week+. Must be some Comcast problem (or somewhere in the link between them maybe).

Also, according to the schedule, Giants v Dodgers will be on Fox2 today (1pm) even though they said during the broadcast last night that it wouldn't be on TV. I'll be at work so I don't care... :P I don't think Fox does that Faux widescreen crap any more, either.

I have noticed that the majority of cities around Concord have been getting the new HD channels any word on Concord. Thanks.

I've seen the posts re KNTV audio. I'm watching the ND-MSU game right now on D*, and i'm seeing some of the worst video artifacting (blockiness) I've ever seen. Seems sporadic and not directly related to fast motion. Curious to know if the local Comcast customers (or any OTA lurkers) are seeing it.

Yeah, I know--nobody would bother to watch this game, but I'm an ND alum. /hangs head in shame re football coach.

EDIT: It may be related to fast camera pans and hence on the production/uplink side of the broadcast.

am watching on comcast hd(703) and see no problems.
milt

I've seen the posts re KNTV audio. I'm watching the ND-MSU game right now on D*, and i'm seeing some of the worst video artifacting (blockiness) I've ever seen. Seems sporadic and not directly related to fast motion. Curious to know if the local Comcast customers (or any OTA lurkers) are seeing it.

Yeah, I know--nobody would bother to watch this game, but I'm an ND alum. /hangs head in shame re football coach.

EDIT: It may be related to fast camera pans and hence on the production/uplink side of the broadcast.

Haven't seen any of the game yet, but if you could, rewind back to the Tiger Woods commercial and just before he places the big check at the register the announcer talks about the product and there is a gargling of the audio that has been typical of KNTV for weeks now. I'm curious if you can hear it. Thanks.

The video looks okay, the graphic transition is blocky, but IIRC, it's always been that way with NBC.

Rewound to the Tiger commercial. The announcer talking about the "body wash with three times more hydrators" or whatever sounds just fine on D* . . . Madison Avenue hooey notwithstanding.

Is it just me, or do the audio issues seem to happen most during louder sounds? Like an exclamation from an announcer. Or a "p" sound when someone is talking. I noticed that last night during Fallon, and before also. Almost seems like an audio amplitude clipping problem to me.

Rewound to the Tiger commercial. The announcer talking about the "body wash with three times more hydrators" or whatever sounds just fine on D* . . . Madison Avenue hooey notwithstanding.

I did the same and I don't hear anything wrong. It must be something different from how DirecTV gets the signal from KNTV. D* gets a fiber link from KNTV, but I'm not sure how Comcast gets their feed. I know the stations at Sutro are fed via fiber, but since KNTV is at San Bruno I'm not sure whether it's OTA or a different, additional fiber link.

Is it just me, or do the audio issues seem to happen most during louder sounds? Like an exclamation from an announcer. Or a "p" sound when someone is talking. I noticed that last night during Fallon, and before also. Almost seems like an audio amplitude clipping problem to me.

I seem to hear it mostly on "r"s, the pops/clicks seem to be pretty random, it does seem like an amplitude problem, although all these noises are also indicative of an encoder that's "out of sync" and needs to be reset.

Did you say you're hearing the same thing with the OTA feed?

Back on the video front, I'm still seeing some pretty bad macroblocking on fast pans or motion on D*. Seems less frequent now. But was noticeable on the challenged catch in the endzone at around 3:30 left in the first half and then again on the kickoff after ND made the field goal.

I seem to hear it mostly on "r"s, the pops/clicks seem to be pretty random, it does seem like an amplitude problem, although all these noises are also indicative of an encoder that's "out of sync" and needs to be reset.

Did you say you're hearing the same thing with the OTA feed?
I posted earlier about the OTA vs. Comcast. What I noticed was that OTA was way louder, but I didn't really notice many audio glitches. Far fewer than on Comcast. But I did hear a few, IIRC.

Today I noticed a new message from Tivo which did an add/delete for two new channels:

805 HBOCPHD HBO Comedy HD Pacific
840 AMCXHDP Action Max HD Pacific

They weren't selected in my channel list as channels I received, and I didn't even notice them until I saw the message. Apparently they existed in the lineup before as East Coast feeds. This update corrected them.

The odd thing is, I never noticed these channels existing before. I remember doing a fairly thorough comparison of Comcast cable box vs. Tivo channels not too long ago (twice actually since the new channels were added). Either I missed these, or they are new additions.

They were apparently silently added to the lineup, and appeared in the Tivo with no message (this can happen when Comcast adds channels ... the Tivo picks them up from the cablecard, but with no PG).

So, I was curious and walked through my channel list, added 805 (HBO Comedy HD) and 840 (Action MAX HD). But also noticed at least one other new channel that I hadn't noticed before, 841 "Thriller MAX HD". I also noticed that 801 (HBO HD) was unchecked, when I know I had that selected before.

I think there may have been one or two more, but I didn't write them down unfortunately. I'm not sure why they were deselected. Perhaps some Tivo message did it, or they were added fairly recently by Comcast. Not sure.

Unfortunately, right now 841 has bad PG data on the Tivo. The others seem OK. I've submitted this to Tivo. They must be getting sick of getting these from me. :D

Anyway, people with Tivo HDs may want to walk through the channel list and make sure you have all your channels selected, because I think a few more were recently added by Comcast, and/or somehow ones that were there already got deselected by some Tivo message.

The wife and I watched "Community" this afternoon on the Tivo S3 recorded from Comcast 703. The audio pops were so distracting that it was hard to pay attention to the show. We emailed KNTV to voice our displeasure. I think if enough people email them maybe they'll do something.

The wife and I watched "Community" this afternoon on the Tivo S3 recorded from Comcast 703. The audio pops were so distracting that it was hard to pay attention to the show. We emailed KNTV to voice our displeasure. I think if enough people email them maybe they'll do something.

I hope so, I've called(left message), emailed(no response yet) and tried to contact the former VP engineering for the station who posts occasionally in the local Yahoo HDTV board, and haven't had any luck with any of those methods. Maybe somebody can go bang on their door.

INFO NBC Bay Area – KNTV
2450 North First Street
San Jose, CA, 95131

I hope so, I've called(left message), emailed(no response yet) and tried to contact the former VP engineering for the station who posts occasionally in the local Yahoo HDTV board, and haven't had any luck with any of those methods. Maybe somebody can go bang on their door.

INFO NBC Bay Area – KNTV
2450 North First Street
San Jose, CA, 95131
Ah you know, I also noticed horrid drops in community last night. So bad I missed some dialog. Comcast 703. I had forgotten.

O wow. I figured they were in SF. That's literally three miles away from my apartment (2.36578 ... measured it on google). :)

I think you meant San Jose.

But yeah, I recorded several Jay Leno and Conan shows this week and was watching (FF a lot) them and noticed the really bad sound. I only watched Community in that channel this week and I was dumb enough to record it in SD, so I was more distracted about the PQ and didn't really checked the sound. (My wife, of course, didn't say anything about the PQ)

Out of curiosity, is UFC 103 or the Mayweather vs Marquez fight available in HD in the "World of More" upgraded areas?

Does anyone that has all the new HD channels knows if they are showing the Mayweather vs Marquez fight in HD? I'd gladly pay $60 or so for that fight in HD.

Since I'm in SJ, still in SD, so I'm using Comcast to "watch" it by another means. ;)

ha! jlee301 and me were thinking the same.

So, no RedZone channel today?

I don't have the Sports tier but I don't see it listed in my guide. It was supposed to be in 427, right?

Same old audio problems on the NBC/KNTV SNF pre-game show...

Same old audio problems on the NBC/KNTV SNF pre-game show...

Does the OTA version have the same problem? I may just turn on an OTA tuner on my sagetv setup just for KNTV... :)

So, no RedZone channel today?

I don't have the Sports tier but I don't see it listed in my guide. It was supposed to be in 427, right?

RedZOne is on today. Pretty good channel. Too bad it is not in HD. Yet.

Does the OTA version have the same problem? I may just turn on an OTA tuner on my sagetv setup just for KNTV... :)

Xn0r says no, or not as bad anyway, I don't know, no OTA here.

Are you hearing it via 703-KNTV? It's driving me nuts.

That stadium is fecking HUGE! They definitely do it big in Texas. :p

Xn0r says no, or not as bad anyway, I don't know, no OTA here.

Are you hearing it via 703-KNTV? It's driving me nuts.

That stadium is fecking HUGE! They definitely do it big in Texas. :p
Ever consider a rooftop antenna? Might be able to get stuff from Sutro with a nice big one. I'm sure u know about tvfool, etc.

Ever consider a rooftop antenna? Might be able to get stuff from Sutro with a nice big one. I'm sure u know about tvfool, etc.

Oh yeah, I've tried. The tree in the pic below is 75' high, the antenna is a 91XG high gain and is feeding an extremely low noise Research Communication pre-amp. Rotor is a CM 9512A.

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/7918/dsc0027eh.jpg
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/9092/91xgsmall.jpg

http://www.terrestrial-digital.com/91XG.html
http://www.researchcomms.com/

It's a great setup which I plan to sell if I ever get my friend to go back up that tree to get it. :D

Oh yeah, I've tried. The tree in the pic below is 75' high, the antenna is a 91XG high gain and is feeding an extremely low noise Research Communication pre-amp. Rotor is a CM 9512A.

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/7918/dsc0027eh.jpg
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/9092/91xgsmall.jpg

http://www.terrestrial-digital.com/91XG.html
http://www.researchcomms.com/

It's a great setup which I plan to sell if I ever get my friend to go back up that tree to get it. :D
How'd it work? That antenna isn't going to get you KGO or KNTV very well, since they're VHF (real ch. 7 & 12).

Of course, you have those pesky mountains in the way too, so I'm not sure if anything would work unless you could put up a 2000' mast. :p

Geez Keenan, where the heck are you trying to reach with that? Even the www.MKA.NET (http://www.MKA.NET) dish reaching earth's orbit isn't placed that high! ;)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h283/mkanet/MKANET-satellite-3.jpg



Oh yeah, I've tried. The tree in the pic below is 75' high, the antenna is a 91XG high gain and is feeding an extremely low noise Research Communication pre-amp. Rotor is a CM 9512A.


http://www.terrestrial-digital.com/91XG.html
http://www.researchcomms.com/

It's a great setup which I plan to sell if I ever get my friend to go back up that tree to get it. :D

lol... I have some hills in the way which are causing the problems, sort of a black hole for reception where I'm at. It was pretty good at getting KBCW, KRON and several other small station from Sutro, but it was never reliable and wouldn't get KPIX, KTVU or KGO. I tried several spots around the property and really didn't have much luck except for the above, little as it was.

Surprised no one has put translators up on Mt. Tam or something for people in your area.

Surprised no one has put translators up on Mt. Tam or something for people in your area.

Santa Rosa is pretty fair to expect to get reliable reception, especially the east part of town. The west part of Santa Rosa does better as it's all flatland out that way.

You say KNTV is close to you, any chance you could pay them a visit? :)

Santa Rosa is pretty fair to expect to get reliable reception, especially the east part of town. The west part of Santa Rosa does better as it's all flatland out that way.

You say KNTV is close to you, any chance you could pay them a visit? :)
Sure I'll just drive right down there. I can picture the scene.

"Hey ... You guys don't know me but I want to report a problem with your sound."

"SECURITY!"

:p

edit: Actually one way we might get their attention is if we send them recordings of the audio drops. I'm pretty sure I can get a show on KNTV off of the Tivo and edit it in virtualdub or something to show all the audio glitches. If enough people do that, maybe ....

Sure I'll just drive right down there. I can picture the scene.

"Hey ... You guys don't know me but I want to report a problem with your sound."

"SECURITY!"

:p

edit: Actually one way we might get their attention is if we send them recordings of the audio drops. I'm pretty sure I can get a show on KNTV off of the Tivo and edit it in virtualdub or something to show all the audio glitches. If enough people do that, maybe ....

I didn't mean right now, but possibly during the day. I would just say at the desk you need to talk to engineering as there is an audio problem with their signal, I can't imagine they'd turn you away. A possible problem would be I don't know how much is controlled by the local station vs Burbank.

The clips are a good idea as well

I didn't mean right now, but possibly during the day. I would just say at the desk you need to talk to engineering as there is an audio problem with their signal, I can't imagine they'd turn you away. A possible problem would be I don't know how much is controlled by the local station vs Burbank.

The clips are a good idea as well

Heh yeh of course not right now. I'm just not sure if they'd care if some guy off the street came in to complain about sound. They'd probably think "who the hell is this guy?" :p

Is there anyone on here who might have an "in" with the engineers?

Heh yeh of course not right now. I'm just not sure if they'd care if some guy off the street came in to complain about sound. They'd probably think "who the hell is this guy?" :p

Is there anyone on here who might have an "in" with the engineers?

I've tried, but the guy doesn't appear to be posting/checking the Yahoo BBS.

I'm not so sure you'd get that response, you would think they would want to know if something is wrong.

Heh yeh of course not right now. I'm just not sure if they'd care if some guy off the street came in to complain about sound. They'd probably think "who the hell is this guy?"

Just an FYI... don't waste your time driving over to KNTV. The front door is always locked and the only way to get in is via an NBC Universal prox card.