San Francisco, CA - Comcast [Text View] - Page 49

Tom Koegel

11-03-09, 11:52 PM

So a little back story. I've been a Directv customer for all but 6 months of the last, oh, 12 years or so (was given a free system when installing an alarm in a new home).

About 2-3 years or so ago, I left DTV for a short time when Comcast beat them to the punch on my locals in HD. I was with them for about 6 months (until DTV offered my locals in HD). I used an HD Tivo which, of course, was a superb device, but no one around here (Fairfield) knew thing one about Cablecards and the situation was a rather lengthy headache for the my time with them.

Like so many others right now, I'm looking to cut some costs (dropped 2 XM radios, trimmed my DTV package, etc.). I am a Comcast internet and phone customer, so if I were to add Cable, it would save me about $35 a month over DTV.

I guess my question is, will I be able to tolerate it? My current DVR is of course not Tivo, but the DTV receiver has come a long way in the last year. My last motorola experience was not favorable. With these new HD channels recently lost, while DTV still seems to have a sizable margin there, Comcast at least now offers the channels that "count".

Have Comcast DVRs improved much in the last couple of years? Is having access to East Bay locals (albeit SD versions) and NFL Redzone worth what I might be losing out by leaving DTV?

Any thoughts are welcome.

OK, I'll jump in.

I was a Comcast customer for many years, including HD for the last four or so. Always used the Motorola DCT boxes, initially a 6412 and later a 3416. Five things combined to move me to D* this spring.

1. Lack of HD channels and frustration about any progress toward them. Obviously, Comcast has solved this problem for the most part and now has just about anything I would want. Including some stuff that D* does not, most prominently AMC-HD (Mad Men).

2. Continuing frustration with the DCT boxes. The nightly lag time issue drove me crazy, where the box wouldn't react to channel or volume changes and then would suddenly click in and race from one to the other. The crappy interface and advertising were bad but tolerable. I don't think Comcast has really solved this problem. Apparently the later DCH and DCX boxes, so long as they are on the Comcast system, will continue to have the same awful interface. See here. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17393789#post17393789) Don't know if the lag time problem has cleared up.

3. Lack of HD sports programming, particularly the MLB package. Obviously, only D* has that. Comcast has obviously caught up on a number of things that are important to niche sports markets, like Speed and Tennis Channel. One plus area for Comcast--this last season, at least, they locked D* out of HD broadcasts for some Giants games.

4. Abysmal customer service. CSRs and onsite techs who have no clue. An awful creaking infrastructure that is different from node to node so that it's even harder for their truck guys to know what's going on. Even when you know what the problem is--in my case, a signal leak from the FM band properly diagnosed by a forum member here--almost no way to get anyone to do anything about it. A clear area of superiority for D*. There is seldom need for contacting customer support--and when you do get them, they solve your problem.

5. HD PQ. With Comcast three-packing, the PQ on D* is noticeably superior. I understand that Comcast is getting better at this, so there may be less of a difference than when their broadcasts of Battlestar Galactica drove me bonkers. Keenan in this forum is the expert, since I think he still has both systems side by side.

I too am tempted by the triple pack and particularly by the higher internet speeds available from Comcast. I have DSL that is capped out at 6Mbps download. Obviously Comcast is much zippier. I might be able to live with the lower PQ, and the HD offerings are now equivalent. I'd need to see a better DVR and better customer support before I would switch back, though. I'm not inclined to shell out for a Tivo to solve Comcast's Motorola inadequacies.

Bottom line: it will depend on what your priorities are. Comcast's addition to the channel lineup makes the offerings closer.

Tom

P.S. What do you mean by "East Bay Locals"? Do you get Sacto stations on your side of the bay?

Cal1981

11-04-09, 12:20 AM

Confirmed in Benicia as well. I have six duplicates:
ABC Family (764, 768)
Disney (765, 769)
HBO (770, 801)
Encore (775, 809)
Starz (780, 816)
Cinemax (792, 838)

What happened to KVIE-HD (710)?

I noticed that KVIE-HD is gone. Too bad because even though it mirrored KQED-HD much of the time, its programming did depart enough to make it worthwhile. I just checked the Santa Clara channel listings and the duplicate channels that you listed appear to have been resolved by removing the original channels. I assume that we'll see that as well at some point. Since the bandwidth is clearly there hopefully more HD channels will be added to those slots in the near future.

ClerkDante

11-04-09, 08:01 AM

Tom, thanks a ton for your detailed reply, at the moment I'm really leaning towards sticking with DTV

Regarding East Bay locals. For whatever reason, in Fairfield, Comcast is the only available provider where you get the Oak/SF affiliates as your local channels. Well, weird thing is, with DTV and Dish, it's all Sacramento stations, but with Comcast we get our HD locals from Sacramento yet the standard definition set is Oak/SF, which having grown up in Walnut Creek before moving out to Fairfield (and working in that area as well) does have it's appeal. I've asked Comcast and DTV why on a couple of occassions and no ones ever really been able to explain why.

Mikef5

11-04-09, 12:15 PM

Next week's roll out for The World of More .....

We’ve scheduled the World of More launches in Oakland, Emeryville and Piedmont to take place on Thursday, November 12, 2009.

Looks like the East Bay is finally in the WOM ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

fender4645

11-04-09, 05:26 PM

I know this is a Comcast forum so please send me a private message offline. I'm basically looking for people with experience with ATT Uverse. I know the whole limitation of 2 HD and 2 SD's streams but I'm looking for some more indepth knowledge such as DVR usability, quality, reliability, etc. Thanks!!

sydyen

11-04-09, 05:36 PM

keenan

11-04-09, 09:17 PM

I've been blaming my DVR....., but if you've got it too then either KPIX has a problem or Comcast bandwidth is being scrunched at that time.

KCSM has foreign mystery programs which have subtitles, so they tend to pile up until I have free time. PQ since the transition has dropped even more dramatically than I thought. The sharpness and clarity of those recorded in April amazed me, so much better than newer shows.

PerkyNot is right, it has something to do with their local overlay right after the last break before the 11pm news, that overlay is causing some issue with the audio stream. I didn't get a chance to call them today but plan on calling tomorrow.

Brian Conrad

11-04-09, 09:18 PM

keenan

11-04-09, 09:19 PM

keenan

11-04-09, 09:25 PM

I'm curious if those in the areas where the transition has been made and have digital tuners on their computers like the HDHR can see if the Extended Basic channels are in the trap frequencies or still high as they are here (with no transition until later this month)? Have the traps been removed? There seemed to be some confusion here as to whether the little boxes were able to handle encrypted channels and if encryption was how Comcast was going to handle the Extended Basic channels.

My line isn't trapped as I had a tech remove it because it was blocking KBCW while I was only getting Limited Basic. I am now paying for an un-trapped line(Digital Preferred), have been upgraded to WoM channel availability, and my HDHR still receives the digital Expanded Basic channels in the clear.

As far as Comcast encrypting the Expanded Basic channels, you can take it to the bank that it's going to happen, they've already done it, or have a date to do it, in Seattle or Portland, somewhere up there.

Mikef5

11-04-09, 09:37 PM

You know what I'm going to ask... :p

You know what my answer will be ;)

FYI, he's not been in the area for a couple of weeks and probably will not for a few weeks more. I'll let you know when he gets back and has the time to tell us.

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

11-04-09, 09:47 PM

You know what my answer will be ;)

FYI, he's not been in the area for a couple of weeks and probably will not for a few weeks more. I'll let you know when he gets back and has the time to tell us.

Laters,
Mikef5
Well, that doesn't sound encouraging.

Mikef5

11-04-09, 09:51 PM

Well, that doesn't sound encouraging.

It's just he has a real job that once in a while takes him away from the forums, not much that we can do about that :p

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

11-04-09, 09:53 PM

It's just he has a real job that once in a while takes him away from the forums, not much that we can do about that :p

Laters,
Mikef5

Well, he needs to get his priorities straight then, nothing is more important than taking care of us. :D

Mikef5

11-05-09, 01:31 PM

You know what I'm going to ask... :p

Keenan and others wondering about those 2 HBO channels that were not added in the last channel additions. Mr. J. has been able to find out what the real deal is with those channels.

It seems that when they were making up the flyers for the channel additions, the people that do that, made up different versions or mach-ups of the flyers drawing from different sources. In doing that they put those 2 HBO channels on the flyer in error and no one caught that mistake.

So, long story made short. Those channels were added to the flyer in error and are not going to be added at this time but could be added in the future if there is a big enough call for those channels.

Anyway, thank you Mr. J. for getting to the bottom of this and taking the time to keep us informed.

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

11-05-09, 02:11 PM

Keenan and others wondering about those 2 HBO channels that were not added in the last channel additions. Mr. J. has been able to find out what the real deal is with those channels.

It seems that when they were making up the flyers for the channel additions, the people that do that, made up different versions or mach-ups of the flyers drawing from different sources. In doing that they put those 2 HBO channels on the flyer in error and no one caught that mistake.

So, long story made short. Those channels were added to the flyer in error and are not going to be added at this time but could be added in the future if there is a big enough call for those channels.

Anyway, thank you Mr. J. for getting to the bottom of this and taking the time to keep us informed.

Laters,
Mikef5
That's what I figured, sloppy proof-reading.

Well that sucks, if you're going to add HBO, add HBO - don't cherry-pick it. Sounds to me like Comcast is out of room again, at least until they expand the capacity on those 750MHz systems and who knows when that will happen. I guess when DirecTV adds those channels Jan/Feb I'll take my account out of suspension and adjust down my programming with Comcast.

So, long story made short. Those channels were added to the flyer in error and are not going to be added at this time but could be added in the future if there is a big enough call for those channels.
Concerning the above statement, what determines "big enough call"? Have you, or anyone here, ever been asked if you wanted those channels? I know I sure haven't. And what apparatus, if any, is in place to let Comcast know I want those channels? And why are those channels available in other Comcast markets but not here?

Cal1981

11-05-09, 02:16 PM

So, long story made short. Those channels were added to the flyer in error and are not going to be added at this time but could be added in the future if there is a big enough call for those channels.

If HBO2 is the eastern feed, I can''t imagine that subscribers out here wouldn't want it. It gives us more options for watching shows that don't air until 10 PM in HD. What would be the mechanism for letting Comcast know what our desires are?

fender4645

11-05-09, 06:37 PM

keenan

11-05-09, 06:49 PM

I'm thinking of building an HTPC and I'm trying to avoid having to get CableCARD tuners for it (cost of tuners + CableCARD rental fee). So if I were to just get a plain old Clear QAM HD tuner (like the Hauppauge 2250), should I expect to be able to tune to all of the channels in the Digital Starter HD package? Channels like FX, ESPN, A&E, Food Network, etc? Or do they encrypted and require an STB/CableCARD? I know this question comes up often...the answer seems to change each time though and I was wondering if anything changed again after the rollout of WOM.

Thanks all!
You won't get the HD version of those channels as they're encrypted. You can get the SD/digital version(Expanded Basic) of those channels until Comcast encrypts them, which they are going to do. The only channels you can really count on getting would be the clear-QAM local broadcast channels, both SD and HD, anything else I would not count on at all.

It should be noted that CableVision has applied for a waiver from the FCC to allow them to encrypt their whole lineup, including local broadcast channels. If CV gets their way, be wary of Comcast doing the same thing.

The fact that Comcast has been allowed to use encryption on the DTAs was only because they piggy-backed on the request made by a small cable company as a means of staying competitive. Comcast hardly needs any help in that area being the largest cable TV provider in the country.

keenan

11-05-09, 06:58 PM

If HBO2 is the eastern feed, I can''t imagine that subscribers out here wouldn't want it. It gives us more options for watching shows that don't air until 10 PM in HD. What would be the mechanism for letting Comcast know what our desires are?

There is none, they'll feed us some story about how their "surveys" have determined that these channels were not requested by subscribers. Which in my opinion is bullcrap, there are no surveys, I have never ever seen or participated in one, has anyone else here?

They may not be giving Mr. J the full story, and I don't blame him at all, but I'd be shocked if the reason has anything to do at all with what the subscribers wanted. I can think of only one time since Comcast has been in the bay area where they actually asked us what we wanted, and even then it was from a pre-selected list of channels, I think it was around 4-5 channels.

It has nothing to do with what we want and everything to do with space/bandwidth, contracts and money.

wco81

11-05-09, 08:04 PM

fender4645

11-05-09, 09:13 PM

fender4645

11-05-09, 09:18 PM

What is the price delta between CableCard and regular QAM tuners?

What does Comcast charge for the cable cards, especially if you're using them to avoid the ridiculous $10-15 DVR fee that they charge for their crappy DVRs?

You can get a dual tuner Clear QAM card for about $110. Each ATI CableCARD tuner costs about $250. So $110 vs. $500...not insignificant.

Comcast charges me $1.70 each for my 2 Tivo's. I'm not charged an additional outlet fee but I've bitched and moaned about that to Comcast enough that I think they've permanently removed that from my account :D I'm not sure they usually charge the Additional Outlet fee for CableCARDs...

keenan

11-05-09, 09:34 PM

When I had just the 2 TiVos, before I added a Moto/Comcast DVR for a few months, I didn't pay any outlet fees either. As soon as the Comcast DVR was added to the account was when I got charged an outlet fee, but only one at $7.50 which I thought was a little weird, but I'm not complaining.

By the way, I didn't know they had gone up to $7.50 per outlet.

calbearryan

11-05-09, 11:27 PM

My line isn't trapped as I had a tech remove it because it was blocking KBCW while I was only getting Limited Basic. I am now paying for an un-trapped line(Digital Preferred), have been upgraded to WoM channel availability, and my HDHR still receives the digital Expanded Basic channels in the clear.

As far as Comcast encrypting the Expanded Basic channels, you can take it to the bank that it's going to happen, they've already done it, or have a date to do it, in Seattle or Portland, somewhere up there.

I'm using an HDHR and all of my Expanded Basic channels just disappeared. Is it possible that those channels just became encrypted?

EDIT: Nevermind, I'm an idiot. It's still working.

Mikef5

11-06-09, 01:34 AM

There is none, they'll feed us some story about how their "surveys" have determined that these channels were not requested by subscribers. Which in my opinion is bullcrap, there are no surveys, I have never ever seen or participated in one, has anyone else here?

They may not be giving Mr. J the full story, and I don't blame him at all, but I'd be shocked if the reason has anything to do at all with what the subscribers wanted. I can think of only one time since Comcast has been in the bay area where they actually asked us what we wanted, and even then it was from a pre-selected list of channels, I think it was around 4-5 channels.

It has nothing to do with what we want and everything to do with space/bandwidth, contracts and money.

Jim,

You have participated in at least 2 surveys that I personally setup here in this forum to find out which channels the people wanted added and Comcast used that survey when they added these new channels and it wasn't from a preselected list. I did have access to a list of channels that Comcast wanted to add but I got Comcast to do the surveys here to show them what people really wanted, not what they thought people wanted. That's when I asked for people to give me the 4 or 5 channels that they would like to see added and I would give that to Comcast for them to consider when they made their selection of channels to add.

I haven't seen anybody from Directv or Dish ask their customers what they wanted and then gave them everything that they asked for. Yes, there are bandwidth problems and contracts that need to be considered and those are big considerations but that's with all the providers not just Comcast. If you think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, then go for it. Yes, I advocate for cable but I've never trashed another provider or steered anyone to one provider or the other. They all have their pluses and minuses, you have to decide which ones you can put up with.

Just to make one thing clear. It is not Mr. J's job to do anything for this forum. He does this as a way to inform people about what Comcast is doing or plans to do and he likes dealing with people in a one on one way, which is why I am still here to help him with that aspect. He can not personally post here or in any other forum so he uses me as the media contact for this area of the forum. We both give the best information that is available to us, given the constraints that Comcast imposes, and none of it is bullcrap or disinformation. If you believe it is then I'm sorry you feel that way but you are wrong.

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

11-06-09, 02:04 AM

Jim,

You have participated in at least 2 surveys that I personally setup here in this forum to find out which channels the people wanted added and Comcast used that survey when they added these new channels and it wasn't from a preselected list. I asked for people to give me the 4 or 5 channels that they would like to see added and I would give that to Comcast for them to consider when they made their selection of channels to add.

I haven't seen anybody from Directv or Dish ask their customers what they wanted and then gave them everything that they asked for. Yes, there are bandwidth problems and contracts that need to be considered and those are big considerations but that's with all the providers not just Comcast. If you think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, then go for it. Yes, I advocate for cable but I've never trashed another provider or steered anyone to one provider or the other. They all have their pluses and minuses, you have to decide which ones you can put up with.

Just to make one thing clear. It is not Mr. J's job to do anything for this forum. He does this as a way to inform people about what Comcast is doing or plans to do and he likes dealing with people in a one on one way, which is why I am still here to help him with that aspect. He can not personally post here or in any other forum so he uses me as the media contact for this area of the forum. We both give the best information that is available to us, given the constraints that Comcast imposes, and none of it is bullcrap or disinformation. If you believe it is then I'm sorry you feel that way but you are wrong.

Laters,
Mikef5
Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly, but it seems to me that we had to pick from a list that he/you presented to us, not just any random channels we could come up with. Besides, the channels I'm talking about were not evenavailable at the time of that "survey", so because of that we don't even get a chance to request them?

Just ask him one thing, why are they available on some Comcast systems but not here?

Also, don't get so defensive, I'm always going to bitch, some here are no doubt tired of it, but I'm sure there are some that appreciate it as well, especially when I smell BS. Originally we were told it was legal/contract issues, now it's because nobody asked for the channels? So which it is....?

P.S. BTW, at this point the questions I've asked above are basically rhetorical because due to competitive/proprietary reasons he will not give you the real answer anyway.

P.S.S. One of the reasons I'm pushing so hard about this HBO thing is because HBO has their content spread out over so many different channels that you literally need all of them to make the subscription worth while. I'm getting it free now because of Comcast's push to get more subs, but what about all those folks who are paying the $19 per month for it, or those that have it rolled into their $100+ packages, don't you think they should be getting the full multiplex of channels, not just a few that have been cherry-picked?

Another question, if they're channels nobody wants how come they are in the lineup in the SD version? Why not the HD version...?

keenan

11-06-09, 02:06 AM

I'm using an HDHR and all of my Expanded Basic channels just disappeared. Is it possible that those channels just became encrypted?

EDIT: Nevermind, I'm an idiot. It's still working.

I just lost TNT, ESPN and ESPN2 SD versions on my HDHR tonight, but I'm pretty sure they've just moved from their previous RF frequencies and I'll have to do another scan to find them.

Cal1981

11-06-09, 01:58 PM

Mikef5

11-06-09, 02:18 PM

Unfortunately, it's not only the WOM flyers that are in error. Our billing statements are as well. I just pulled down my November bill and, sure enough, the two "missing" HBO HDs are listed on 802 and 803.

Well, that is strange, because I'm looking at my paper bill, that I just paid for November, and they are not listed on my bill, no channels 802 or 803. It goes from 801 to 805... that's under the Premium Channels. I don't know why your bill would show them and mine doesn't :confused:

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

11-06-09, 02:26 PM

Unfortunately, it's not only the WOM flyers that are in error. Our billing statements are as well. I just pulled down my November bill and, sure enough, the two "missing" HBO HDs are listed on 802 and 803.

You're talking about the insert that came with the bill, the yearly one they have to send out that lists all the charges? I got that too and it does lists those channels. I can understand the misprinting, after all, those channels are available on some Comcast systems, just not here(I should say, just the HD version is not available here), and there's probably a lot of copying and pasting that goes on with those flyers/inserts.

Cal1981

11-06-09, 03:02 PM

You're talking about the insert that came with the bill, the yearly one they have to send out that lists all the charges? I got that too and it does lists those channels. I can understand the misprinting, after all, those channels are available on some Comcast systems, just not here(I should say, just the HD version is not available here), and there's probably a lot of copying and pasting that goes on with those flyers/inserts.

I haven't gotten paper bills in quite awhile so I pull my statements down as PDF files from the CC web site. The last two pages pages on this bill appear to be the inserts. I was really hoping for HBO East HD since we prefer to watch some shows like Bill Maher's at 7 PM instead of 10 PM. It does resign us to the SD channel but what can you do?

keenan

11-06-09, 03:09 PM

I haven't gotten paper bills in quite awhile so I pull my statements down as PDF files from the CC web site. The last two pages pages on this bill appear to be the inserts. I was really hoping for HBO East HD since we prefer to watch some shows like Bill Maher's at 7 PM instead of 10 PM. It does resign us to the SD channel but what can you do?

Nothing, except rant and rave and piss people off like I've been doing. :p:D

Cal1981

11-06-09, 06:29 PM

Nothing, except rant and rave and piss people off like I've been doing. :p:D

I defer to your expertise in this area. You are a master:D:D

nikeykid

11-06-09, 07:49 PM

is it oakland's turn yet to get wom?? :(

Mikef5

11-06-09, 08:14 PM

is it oakland's turn yet to get wom?? :(

Yes......http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=17474357&postcount=12025

Laters,
Mikef5

Cal1981

11-06-09, 08:30 PM

Well, that is strange, because I'm looking at my paper bill, that I just paid for November, and they are not listed on my bill, no channels 802 or 803. It goes from 801 to 805... that's under the Premium Channels. I don't know why your bill would show them and mine doesn't :confused:

That's very odd Mike. My billing statement came out today and aside from the removal of the duplicate channels, I would assume that your South Bay and my North Bay lineups would be the same on paper. Maybe Mr. J can shed some further light? Also, once the six duplicates are removed does this free up bandwidth for more channels or do the subs occupy the same slots?

Mikef5

11-06-09, 08:42 PM

That's very odd Mike. My billing statement came out today and aside from the removal of the duplicate channels, I would assume that your South Bay and my North Bay lineups would be the same on paper. Maybe Mr. J can shed some further light? Also, once the six duplicates are removed does this free up bandwidth for more channels or do the subs occupy the same slots?
The duplicate channels share the same program frequency, example.. 770 HBO-HD is the same as 801 HBO-HD, they are not separate signals and thus it will not free up any bandwidth when 770 is removed.

Laters,
Mikef5

keenan

11-06-09, 08:53 PM

I removed the header containing account info.

Santa Rosa lineup card. (http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/2324/comcastlineup.jpg)

ClerkDante

11-07-09, 11:25 AM

Just a little follow up for those who may be interested on my jump from DTV to Comcast.

Installer came on Friday. Arrived with HD-DVR which must have been the original. Aside from being visible banged up, it's only HD connection was a DVI port. After I told him that my only available connection was HDMI, I was told I'd have to go to the office for that. OK I figured, not TOO big of a pain. Then after an hour or so of him wandering around my neighborhood, he came back in and said the signal to the house was a little weak and a new line might need to be placed. Then suddenly out of the blue "oh, nevermind, we got a great signal" everything should be great.

We get the box hooked up and he leaves. Problems immediately begin, within the first hour the box locks up twice. On-Demand is completely inaccessible and about 1/3 of my channels stick on "Channel will be available soon" with another 1/3 or so being blocky.

When I called "Customer Support" I was chastized for not calling them to have the box reset. I was then told that "Oh no, the channels that are coming in poorly don't even exist". We can send a tech next week to check the signal, but you'll never get those channels (all channels listed as part of my package when I made the ill-advised move to sign up in the first place).

After about an hour of arguing and getting blamed for all of their failures I cancelled and reconnected my Directv box.

I should have known better, and saving an extra $20 a month for this garbage simply isn't worth it.

Cal1981

11-07-09, 11:32 AM

I removed the header containing account info.

Same one the I got in Vallejo.

BTW, if anyone is interested, the original "The Prisoner" series is in the AMC On Demand listings until January. It's supposed to be available in HD but so far I can only find it in the SD version. Fortunately, the SD quality is pretty good, especially in its original 4:3 aspect ratio.

snidely

11-07-09, 11:48 AM

I've been looking to get a land line but will probably end up with AT&T "POTS" for about $7/mo measured rate (I just need a phone for very occasional use at home since my new cell phone doesn't have good reception at home).
Who is your cel provider? If T-Mobile, they have phones that seamlessly can make use of wi-fi signals as well as conventional cell. All their BBerrys have this feature.
...mike

snidely

11-07-09, 01:28 PM

We still have the ancient DCT-6412. This new box seems to have double the capacity.
1. Does this box eliminate the lag (or complete ignoring) of commands from the remote?
2. More importantly, does this box recognize the "30 second skiP' command that many of us put in the remote. (That is the most used button on ours.)

...mike

bwelling

11-08-09, 02:48 PM

keenan

11-08-09, 02:52 PM

Has anyone else with a TiVo gotten a channel update today that deleted all of the HD versions of the broadcast channels (702-706)? This is really weird, as none of this should have anything to do with the recent World of More additions.

Are they missing in the guide, or are they also missing in the channel setup menu?

gfbuchanan

11-08-09, 06:06 PM

KCSM has foreign mystery programs which have subtitles, so they tend to pile up until I have free time. PQ since the transition has dropped even more dramatically than I thought. The sharpness and clarity of those recorded in April amazed me, so much better than newer shows.

Earlier I was watching some travel shows on KCSM on Comcast and noticed that the left and right sides of the picture were being trimmed off. I exchanged Emails with the KCSM tech folks. From what I understand, their production facilities only handle 16x9 HD (or SD up converted) content. Since they don't have an HD signal on Comcast, they had to decide to either send their signal to Comcast as letter box, or trim off the left and right sides. For a while they tried letter box, but got complaints from viewers. So now they are sending a 16x9 signal, trimmed to 4x3. That may be contributing to the lose of signal quality on KCSM.

I see two things we can try. One is to ask Comcast to make an HD channel available to KCSM. The second is for enough of us to ask KCSM to go back to letter box on the Comcast SD broadcast.

Greg

michaelc

11-08-09, 06:57 PM

Xn0r

11-08-09, 07:07 PM

tranle

11-09-09, 02:06 AM

11-09-09, 03:52 AM

Is anybody in Mountain View receiving 717 WGN-HD ?
I have limited basic+HD and Comcast channel listing for Limited Basic HD says that I should be getting the channel guide on my box does not see it. Just trying to confirm that somebody else is seeing that channel around me before escalating to a CSR that can do more than sending a reset to my box.

I have limited basic in Mountain View, and I don't get that, either. That channel is at 291MHz, which is near the edge of the notch filter, so it's probably blocked/degraded by the filter.

mjjacks2

11-09-09, 09:15 AM

Any news to when Concord, CA will get WOM. Thanks

Mikef5

11-09-09, 12:06 PM

kevini

11-09-09, 01:46 PM

Has anyone else with a TiVo gotten a channel update today that deleted all of the HD versions of the broadcast channels (702-706)? This is really weird, as none of this should have anything to do with the recent World of More additions.

Yes, It happened to me too. Luckily my primary TiVo has my antenna hooked to it so my recordings are still working. TiVo has better sort this out ASAP, the guide was finally correct.

mpatnode

11-09-09, 02:24 PM

You won't get the HD version of those channels as they're encrypted. You can get the SD/digital version(Expanded Basic) of those channels until Comcast encrypts them, which they are going to do. The only channels you can really count on getting would be the clear-QAM local broadcast channels, both SD and HD, anything else I would not count on at all.

It should be noted that CableVision has applied for a waiver from the FCC to allow them to encrypt their whole lineup, including local broadcast channels. If CV gets their way, be wary of Comcast doing the same thing.

The fact that Comcast has been allowed to use encryption on the DTAs was only because they piggy-backed on the request made by a small cable company as a means of staying competitive. Comcast hardly needs any help in that area being the largest cable TV provider in the country.

Anyone know when this will really happen? I can't imagine it will be that easy to update all those DTA's in the field with the new encryption code. Now that the new ATI bios (http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4361&Itemid=1)is available, the CableCARD solution is less onorus, but I'm currently happy saving the $100/yr for the CableCARD rental. I'm already paying for extended basic. IMHO I should be able to get the channels without having to install another box or pay another $100.

And yes, ESPN, ESPN-2 and one or two others were moved again and in this case the Windows 7 rescan DID NOT pick them up. But SiliconDust (http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/lineup_web/US:94115#lineup_898506)and GuideTool (http://1geek1tool.com/guidetool)saved the day again. I can't imagine SiliconDust will be too happy when the encryption is implemented.

bwelling

11-09-09, 02:41 PM

Are they missing in the guide, or are they also missing in the channel setup menu?

Everywhere. For some reason likely related to Comcast brokenness, Tribune pushed out an update that incorrectly removed lots of stations. I spent about 45 minutes on a 3-way call with TiVo and Comcast customer support yesterday, and while nothing could be fixed, at least the Comcast guy said that there had been a ticket opened the night before.

No idea if it's been fixed yet; my TiVo's pretending it's in Hayward now, as the problems were only affecting Fremont and Berkeley.

keenan

11-09-09, 02:43 PM

Anyone know when this will really happen? I can't imagine it will be that easy to update all those DTA's in the field with the new encryption code. Now that the new ATI bios (http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4361&Itemid=1)is available, the CableCARD solution is less onorus, but I'm currently happy saving the $100/yr for the CableCARD rental. I'm already paying for extended basic. IMHO I should be able to get the channels without having to install another box or pay another $100.

And yes, ESPN, ESPN-2 and one or two others were moved again and in this case the Windows 7 rescan DID NOT pick them up. But SiliconDust (http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/lineup_web/US:94115#lineup_898506)and GuideTool (http://1geek1tool.com/guidetool)saved the day again. I can't imagine SiliconDust will be too happy when the encryption is implemented.

Below is a section from an article in the Seattle Times. (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009860393_brier14.html)

Comcast has been transmitting the digital signals unencrypted. That means people with TVs that have built-in digital tuners haven't had to use the adapters yet. Some people with bare-bones $14 cable service (and a TV with a "QAM" tuner) have been getting expanded basic channels for free.

But not for long. Late last month, the FCC authorized Comcast to use the free converter devices as descramblers. That's a green light for the company to start encrypting signals, which it began doing a few weeks ago in Spokane. The rest of Washington will follow soon, meaning all expanded-basic customers will truly have to use converters soon.

"We're still on track to encrypt, definitely, by the end of the year," spokesman Steve Kipp said Friday.

The company is simultaneously providing more channels in HD (and raising rates), but you'll need a digital package to get the crisper image.

Comcast's digital switch is mostly done in Washington except for Seattle, where it begins next month. Kipp said 20 of the 40 affected channels will go digital in the city from Oct. 27 to 29, and the rest on Nov. 10 and 11.

I think DSL Reports has some more info on specific areas where it's happening already as well.

bwelling

11-09-09, 02:45 PM

Yes, It happened to me too. Luckily my primary TiVo has my antenna hooked to it so my recordings are still working. TiVo has better sort this out ASAP, the guide was finally correct.

Switching the TiVo to a Hayward lineup also helps. The full lineups aren't identical, but they're mostly the same (especially if you only care about HD channels), so it should work well enough until it gets fixed. zap2it still has the broken lineup today, but (recently, at least) TiVo seems to be pushing new updates before they're live on zap2it.

keenan

11-09-09, 02:49 PM

Everywhere. For some reason likely related to Comcast brokenness, Tribune pushed out an update that incorrectly removed lots of stations. I spent about 45 minutes on a 3-way call with TiVo and Comcast customer support yesterday, and while nothing could be fixed, at least the Comcast guy said that there had been a ticket opened the night before.

No idea if it's been fixed yet; my TiVo's pretending it's in Hayward now, as the problems were only affecting Fremont and Berkeley.

That's a heck of a mistake, good idea using a different lineup though. It sounds as if the problem needs to be corrected at Tribune Media.

Xn0r

11-09-09, 02:59 PM

Welcome to my hell of the last three months. Thankfully, now all of the stations are stable and correct (knock on wood). And so far no update that hoses all my local HDs.

I noticed that a while ago, KTEH came up on the Tivo @ ch. 898. It tunes in, and the content that I've seen so far is all SD. But, it doesn't show up on the Cable box. The Tivo doesn't know about it ("To be announced..."), but it just showed up on the cable card I guess. :confused:

keenan

11-09-09, 03:05 PM

I've still got a few guide issues, like HBO-801 is listed twice and when I try to remove one of them in the channel setup it leaves none in the guide so I've just left them both there. Got another channel with no info, don't recal what it is at the moment. Think I have 2 FXP's as well, same problem as HBO-801. Haven't bothered with trying to get any of it corrected yet.

Still haven't called KPIX yet on the audio problem, waiting to see if they fixed it tonight.

KNTV seems to have the stuttering fixed although I still hear some popping. The popping was a different, unrelated issue though so hopefully they're still working on that.

Cal1981

11-09-09, 03:28 PM

This was the first weekend that I got to watch NFL RedZone in HD. You all were right. It's outstanding in HD. Watching the "two-game" screens go to a full wide on one of the games is great. I still marvel at the job that Scott Hanson does hosting this bombastic revue. His prep time for each Sunday must be intense.

bwelling

11-09-09, 04:45 PM

That's a heck of a mistake, good idea using a different lineup though. It sounds as if the problem needs to be corrected at Tribune Media.

Yeah, I also submitted a request to Tribune yesterday (for about the 10th time in the last two weeks). I'm hoping they're not sick of me by now :)

stretch437

11-09-09, 04:55 PM

Hi everyone. I'm visiting my mother in Rohnert Park for a few weeks to do some delayed work changing lightbulbs, hanging curtains, that sort of thing. :)

Mom no doubt used my visit as the moment to finally upgrade to HDTV. She presently buys "Digital Starter" from Comcast and gets a fair amount of HD channels over the box already. The thing is, she has the old Motorola 6412 with DVI.

Is there any better boxes available? Can anyone fill me in on what Comcast North Bay ought to be offering now that it's no longer 2005? In the past this thread was very helpful in regards to being able to skip the run-around, being able to walk right up to the Comcast desk and state in simple terms exactly what it is I want.

well, the latest and greatest (and hardest to find) is the DCX series. But if you go into a comcast office demanding an upgrade you're more likely to get the almost-equally-good DCH series. i used the DCH 3416 for a few months and thought it was fine.

DVI may *sound* like it's ancient, but if she's not running out of space on the box she's got, she won't be gaining much from changing boxes. the main advantage of the newer boxes for regular (ie, non-videophile) folks is the larger hard drives.

the thing most people think of when they interact with their STB is the ancient iGuide software interface which will appear exactly the same on all the boxes provided by comcast. so seriously, if it ain't broke, i wouldn't fix it.

jlee301

11-09-09, 06:51 PM

I noticed that a while ago, KTEH came up on the Tivo @ ch. 898. It tunes in, and the content that I've seen so far is all SD. But, it doesn't show up on the Cable box. The Tivo doesn't know about it ("To be announced..."), but it just showed up on the cable card I guess. :confused:

I've seen that on there since I switched to Comcast. I sent 10+ requests to TiVo to add it as well but they never done it. So I just gave up.

Xn0r

11-09-09, 07:56 PM

I've seen that on there since I switched to Comcast. I sent 10+ requests to TiVo to add it as well but they never done it. So I just gave up.
Yeah I don't know if it's even supposed to be there. It's just odd that it shows up on the Tivo as a tunable channel, but the cable box doesn't show it.

santeejoe

11-10-09, 04:29 PM

Anyone know when Napa is getting the Red Zone channel in HD? I am in American Canyon, which I believe is part of the Napa Comcast lineup.

That Don Guy

11-10-09, 09:17 PM

Hey, who jacked up the price? (Digital Preferred is now $2 more, and Additional Digital Outlets are $7.49 instead of $6.99.)

Also, add me to the list of people whose recent cable bills include the two "missing" HBO channels - and, I might add, does not include a listing for NFL Red Zone (or anything else) on 785.

-- Don

gcrab

11-10-09, 09:18 PM

Hey guys, comcast just installed the new box(silver) i was wondering if you can change the video size of SD channels cause it has a big black bar on both sides, i have a 1080p 56" samsung. I'm using "just scan" on "p.size" i dont want to change it back and forth for "wide" and "just scan" because the HD channels will be cropped. I see only video positioning in the comcast setup. Any help would be appreciated.

michaelc

11-10-09, 09:57 PM

well, the latest and greatest (and hardest to find) is the DCX series. But if you go into a comcast office demanding an upgrade you're more likely to get the almost-equally-good DCH series. i used the DCH 3416 for a few months and thought it was fine.

DVI may *sound* like it's ancient, but if she's not running out of space on the box she's got, she won't be gaining much from changing boxes. the main advantage of the newer boxes for regular (ie, non-videophile) folks is the larger hard drives.

the thing most people think of when they interact with their STB is the ancient iGuide software interface which will appear exactly the same on all the boxes provided by comcast. so seriously, if it ain't broke, i wouldn't fix it.

Thanks for the information.

What I'm most interested in is the box not trying to mess with the channel's native resolution, but it sounds like that is limited exclusively to the DCX series. Unfortunate, as I was really hoping to send 720p or 1080i as necessary to the 1080p set and let the set handle all processing. Ah well.

viperx116

11-11-09, 12:27 AM

Does anyone know the site that lists all the QAM channels? Comcast keeps moving them around.

keenan

11-11-09, 03:14 AM

Does anyone know the site that lists all the QAM channels? Comcast keeps moving them around.

http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/channels_us

mds54

11-11-09, 02:39 PM

Maybe it's just us at my house, but is anyone else as bothered as we are with the channel guide ads? I'm talking specifically about the ones for the Health channel, blaring out HEART ATTACK and DEPRESSION with every other page of the guide. This makes us very uncomfortable while we are trying to relax. It just seems wrong to be subjected to potentially frightening thoughts without having a choice.

DAP

11-11-09, 02:49 PM

Does anyone know the site that lists all the QAM channels? Comcast keeps moving them around.

This is what I am getting:
+---------+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------+--------+-----------+---------+
| channum | xmltvid | callsign | name | freqid | serviceid | mplexid |
+---------+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------+--------+-----------+---------+
| 11 | | HSN | Home Shopping Network | 85 | 9 | 11 |
| 87.7 | | Unknown | Unknown | 87 | 7 | 13 |
| 998 | | CTCH | (Color Bars) | 98 | 12 | 21 |
| 100.5 | | Unknown | Unknown | 100 | 5 | 23 |
| 100.7 | | Unknown | Unknown | 100 | 7 | 23 |
| 108.1 | 0 | Unknown | Unknown | 108 | 1 | 29 |
| 108.3 | 0 | Unknown | Unknown | 108 | 3 | 29 |
| 108.5 | 0 | Unknown | Unknown | 108 | 5 | 29 |
| 108.7 | 0 | Unknown | Unknown | 108 | 7 | 29 |
| 108.9 | 0 | Unknown | Unknown | 108 | 9 | 29 |
| 108.11 | 0 | Unknown | Unknown | 108 | 11 | 29 |
| 108.13 | 0 | Unknown | Unknown | 108 | 13 | 29 |
| 108.15 | 0 | Unknown | Unknown | 108 | 15 | 29 |
| 108.19 | 0 | Unknown | Unknown | 108 | 17 | 29 |
| 108.17 | 0 | Unknown | Unknown | 108 | 19 | 29 |
| 100.6 | 0 | Unknown | Unknown | 100 | 6 | 23 |
| 122.14 | 0 | Unknown | Unknown | 122 | 14 | 42 |
| 58 | 10139 | CNBC | CNBC | 122 | 12 | 42 |
| 56 | 10142 | CNN | Cable News Network | 85 | 7 | 11 |
| 57 | 10145 | HLN | Headline News | 85 | 12 | 11 |
| 63 | 10150 | COMEDYP | Comedy Central | 71 | 5 | 244 |
| 22 | 10161 | CSPAN | Cable Satellite Public Affairs Network | 85 | 1 | 11 |
| 109 | 10162 | CSPAN2 | Cable Satellite Public Affairs Network 2 | 85 | 2 | 11 |
| 110 | 10162 | CSPAN3 | Cable Satellite Public Appairs Network 3 | 87 | 8 | 13 |
| 38 | 10179 | ESPN | ESPN | 92 | 8 | 18 |
| 229 | 10183 | EWTN | Eternal Word Television Network | 123 | 13 | 43 |
| 12 | 10345 | KBCW | KBCW SD CW | 89 | 10 | 15 |
| 21 | 10381 | KCNSSD | KCNS SD | 90 | 3 | 16 |
| 14 | 10418 | KDTV | KDTV | 89 | 6 | 15 |
| 19 | 10457 | KTNC | KTNC | 89 | 9 | 15 |
| 7 | 10479 | KGOSD | KGO SD ABC | 89 | 4 | 15 |
| 6 | 10502 | KICUSD | KICU SD | 92 | 2 | 18 |
| 16 | 10562 | KKPXSD | KKPX SD | 92 | 5 | 18 |
| 32 | 10582 | KMTP | KMTP | 90 | 2 | 16 |
| 3 | 10600 | KNTVSD | KNTV SD NBC | 92 | 1 | 18 |
| 13 | 10619 | KOFYSD | KOFY SD | 89 | 7 | 15 |
| 5 | 10641 | KPIXSD | KPIX SD CBS | 89 | 3 | 15 |
| 9 | 10653 | KQEDSD | KQED SD PBS | 89 | 5 | 15 |
| 4 | 10672 | KRONSD | KRON SD | 89 | 2 | 15 |
| 24 | 10680 | KSBWSD | KSBW SD NBC | 100 | 12 | 23 |
| 18 | 10703 | KSTS | KSTS | 92 | 3 | 18 |
| 10 | 10717 | KTEHSD | KTEH SD | 92 | 4 | 18 |
| 8 | 10736 | KTSFSD | KTSF SD | 89 | 8 | 15 |
| 2 | 10760 | KTVUSD | KTVU SD FOX | 89 | 1 | 15 |
| 46 | 10919 | LIFEP | Lifetime | 121 | 11 | 41 |
| 43 | 10987 | MTVP | Music Television | 71 | 10 | 244 |
| 53 | 11007 | NIKP | Nickelodeon | 71 | 11 | 244 |
| 34 | 11069 | QVC | QVC | 85 | 10 | 11 |
| 40 | 11109 | CSNBA | Comcast SportsNet Bay Area | 92 | 10 | 18 |
| 71 | 11180 | TRAV | The Travel Channel | 85 | 4 | 11 |
| 61 | 11187 | TWC | The Weather Channel | 100 | 3 | 23 |
| 42 | 11208 | USAP | USA Network | 121 | 7 | 41 |
| 39 | 12444 | ESPN2 | ESPN2 | 92 | 9 | 18 |
| 52 | 12499 | ABCFB | ABC Family Channel | 121 | 1 | 41 |
| 29 | 12500 | DISCP | The Discovery Channel | 71 | 3 | 244 |
| 55 | 12510 | DISNP | Disny Channel | 121 | 6 | 41 |
| 20 | 14752 | KFSF | KFSF | 90 | 5 | 16 |
| 36 | 14753 | FXP | FX Networks Inc. | 121 | 10 | 41 |
| 128 | 14755 | BLOOM | Bloomberg Business Television | 73 | 5 | 241 |
| 230 | 14767 | TBN | Trinity Broadcasting Network | 73 | 8 | 241 |
| 74 | 14791 | MUN2 | Mun2 | 100 | 9 | 23 |
| 82 | 14899 | GOLF | The Golf Channel | 85 | 8 | 11 |
| 164 | 14948 | SHOPNBC | ShopNBC | 98 | 3 | 21 |
| 108 | 15223 | CALCHAN | California Channel | 107 | 13 | 28 |
| 607 | 15599 | MUN2 | Mun2 | 71 | 2 | 244 |
| 81 | 15952 | VERSUS | Versus | 122 | 10 | 42 |
| 60 | 16300 | MSNBC | MSNBC | 121 | 5 | 41 |
| 51 | 16331 | APL | Animal Planet | 85 | 3 | 11 |
| 59 | 16374 | FNC | Faux News Channel | 121 | 2 | 41 |
| 44 | 16376 | VH1P | Video Hits One | 71 | 6 | 244 |
| 275 | 16834 | BIO | The Biography Channel | 122 | 2 | 42 |
| 33 | 17098 | WGNAMER | WGN America | 87 | 4 | 13 |
| 64 | 17561 | EP | E! Entertainment Television | 71 | 9 | 244 |
| 54 | 18151 | TOONP | Cartoon Network | 71 | 7 | 244 |
| 136 | 18179 | G4 | G4-video game television | 73 | 13 | 241 |
| 276 | 18279 | HISI | History International | 122 | 3 | 42 |
| 68 | 18350 | GALAP | Galavision Cable Network | 94 | 15 | 20 |
| 504 | 18480 | LMN | Lifetime Movie Network | 122 | 4 | 42 |
| 37 | 18510 | TNTP | Turner Network TV | 92 | 7 | 18 |
| 168 | 18517 | GEMS | GemsTV | 98 | 13 | 21 |
| 25 | 18982 | KTLN | KTLN | 90 | 6 | 16 |
| 45 | 19002 | SPIKEP | Spike TV | 71 | 8 | 244 |
| 50 | 19543 | TLCP | The Learning Channel | 71 | 4 | 244 |
| 702 | 19571 | KTVU-DT | KTVU-DT | 78 | 2 | 6 |
| 705 | 19572 | KPIX-DT | KPIX-DT | 78 | 1 | 6 |
| 707 | 19574 | KGO-HD | KGO-HD | 80 | 1 | 8 |
| 712 | 19575 | KBCW-DT | KBCW-DT | 74 | 5 | 242 |
| 185 | 19933 | HALMRKP | Hallmark Channel | 120 | 3 | 40 |
| 704 | 20547 | KRON HD | KRON HD | 74 | 1 | 242 |
| 706 | 21650 | KICU HD | KICU HD (Oak) | 119 | 1 | 39 |
| 47 | 21760 | AETVP | A & E Network | 121 | 9 | 41 |
| 62 | 21762 | HISTP | History | 94 | 9 | 20 |
| 703 | 21785 | KNTV-HD | KNTV-HD | 79 | 1 | 7 |
| 27 | 22141 | EDAC027 | Educational Access - EDAC027 | 100 | 10 | 23 |
| 28 | 22142 | EDAC028 | Educational Access - EDAC028 | 100 | 11 | 23 |
| 104 | 23412 | LOOR104 | Local Origination - LOOR104 | 100 | 8 | 23 |
| 15 | 23590 | COAC015 | Community Access - COAC015 | 100 | 4 | 23 |
| 76 | 23952 | PEG076 | Public, Educational, Government - PEG076 | 121 | 3 | 41 |
| 709 | 24344 | KQED-HD | KQED-HD | 80 | 2 | 8 |
| 70 | 24483 | BETP | Black Enternainment Television | 71 | 1 | 244 |
| 73 | 24533 | SYFYP | Syfy | 120 | 13 | 40 |
| 65 | 24569 | TRUTVP | truTV | 120 | 4 | 40 |
| 72 | 26046 | TVLANDP | Nick at Nite's TV Land | 94 | 14 | 20 |
| 189 | 30507 | LIF/ENC | LIF/ENC | 80 | 3 | 8 |
| 715 | 30833 | LIVWELL | LIVWELL | 80 | 7 | 8 |
| 48 | 31555 | BRAVOP | Bravo | 94 | 10 | 20 |
| 49 | 31556 | AMCP | AMC | 121 | 12 | 41 |
| 1 | 32046 | VODDM | Video On Demand | 98 | 11 | 21 |
| 35 | 33648 | FOODP | Food Network | 121 | 4 | 41 |
| 67 | 34215 | HGTVP | Home & Garden Television | 94 | 11 | 20 |
| 41 | 34240 | TBS | Turner Broadcasting System | 92 | 11 | 18 |
| 190 | 35278 | KQEDDT3 | KQED World | 90 | 8 | 16 |
| 711 | 35375 | ION_KKP | ION_KKPXHD | 79 | 6 | 7 |
| 17 | 35545 | KCSMDT | KCSMDT | 90 | 4 | 16 |
| 186 | 36151 | NBC Wea | NBC Wea | 79 | 2 | 7 |
| 199 | 43282 | KFTY | KFTY | 96 | 1 | 143 |
| 111 | 43377 | TVGNP | TV Guide Network | 100 | 1 | 23 |
| 116 | 43801 | CSNP | CSNBP/JewlryTV | 123 | 40 | 43 |
| 960 | 44192 | KQEDFM | KQED FM | 96 | 10 | 143 |
| 975 | 44193 | KUFXFM | KUFX FM | 96 | 25 | 143 |
| 89 | 44917 | CSNCA | Comcast SportsNet California | 92 | 6 | 18 |
| 119 | 47540 | SPROUT | PBS Kids Sprout | 107 | 1 | 28 |
| 961 | 47694 | KRCBFM | KRCB FM | 96 | 11 | 143 |
| 962 | 47695 | KCSMFM | KCSM FM | 96 | 12 | 143 |
| 963 | 47696 | KSJOFM | KSJO FM | 96 | 13 | 143 |
| 964 | 47698 | KNGYFM | KNGY FM | 96 | 14 | 143 |
| 965 | 47699 | KRZZFM | KRZZ FM | 96 | 15 | 143 |
| 966 | 47700 | KJZYFM | KJZY FM | 96 | 16 | 143 |
| 967 | 47701 | KPFAFM | KPFA FM | 96 | 17 | 143 |
| 968 | 47702 | KBAY | KBAY FM | 96 | 18 | 143 |
| 969 | 47703 | KYLDFM | KYLD FM | 96 | 19 | 143 |
| 970 | 47704 | KRTYFM | KRTY FM | 96 | 20 | 143 |
| 971 | 47705 | KZBRFM | KZBR FM | 96 | 21 | 143 |
| 972 | 47706 | KOITFM | KOIT FM | 96 | 22 | 143 |
| 973 | 47707 | KLLCFM | KLLC FM | 96 | 23 | 143 |
| 974 | 47708 | KISQFM | KISQ FM | 96 | 24 | 143 |
| 976 | 47709 | KSOLFM | KSOL FM | 96 | 26 | 143 |
| 977 | 47710 | KFRCFM | KFRC FM | 96 | 27 | 143 |
| 978 | 47711 | KZSTFM | KZST FM | 96 | 28 | 143 |
| 979 | 47712 | KBRGFM | KBRG FM | 96 | 29 | 143 |
| 980 | 47713 | KIOIFM | KIOI FM | 96 | 30 | 143 |
| 981 | 47714 | KDFCFM | KDFC FM | 96 | 31 | 143 |
| 982 | 47715 | KBLXFM | KBLX FM | 96 | 32 | 143 |
| 983 | 47716 | KKSFFM | KKSF FM | 96 | 33 | 143 |
| 984 | 47717 | KFOGFM | KFOG FM | 96 | 34 | 143 |
| 985 | 47718 | KMHXFM | KMHX FM | 96 | 35 | 143 |
| 986 | 47719 | KITSFM | KITS FM | 96 | 36 | 143 |
| 987 | 47721 | KMELFM | KMEL FM | 96 | 37 | 143 |
| 988 | 47722 | KEZRFM | KEZR FM | 96 | 38 | 143 |
| 989 | 47723 | KSANFM | KSAN FM | 96 | 39 | 143 |
| 195 | 49937 | KGOACCU | KGOACCU | 80 | 8 | 8 |
| 188 | 50439 | KTVU-SD | KTVU-SD | 78 | 3 | 6 |
| 197 | 50459 | KICU SD | KICU SD KEMS | 119 | 3 | 39 |
| 196 | 56658 | KBWB | KBWB Azteca | 96 | 6 | 143 |
| 196 | 56658 | KBWB | KBWBAzteca | 96 | 6 | 143 |
| 103 | 57829 | LEAC103 | Leased Access - LEAC103 | 120 | 14 | 40 |
| 192 | 58519 | SPROUT | PBS Kids Sprout | 90 | 10 | 16 |
| 191 | 60544 | KTEHDT5 | KTEHDT5 | 90 | 9 | 16 |
| 187 | 61388 | KNTV US | KNTV US | 79 | 3 | 7 |
+---------+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------+--------+-----------+---------+

This is with limited basic.
But unless you just happen to be on exactly the same network, what you get could be different.
Silicon dust is the best alternative, but sometimes it is just plane wrong.

There are a few channels that I don't know the Comcast channel numbers for, those are listed in the actualchannel.subchannel format.

(Sorry about the random order, that is the order in which the database dumps the data. If you want, you can load the data into a spread sheet and sort it).

11-11-09, 04:53 PM

mds54

11-11-09, 05:42 PM

If they stop the ads, they may have to raise the rates even higher, which may actually cause heart attacks and depression for many people. :D

Good point!:rolleyes:
But we're only talking about those two ads, not all the others.
I guess my family is super sensitive to this since we have lost loved ones
to both, and we really get uncomfortable being constantly reminded of that
while we're trying to enjoy TV.

keenan

11-11-09, 05:57 PM

Good point!:rolleyes:
But we're only talking about those two ads, not all the others.
I guess my family is super sensitive to this since we have lost loved ones
to both, and we really get uncomfortable being constantly reminded of that
while we're trying to enjoy TV.

My brother hated those guide ads so much he called Comcast daily for over 2 mos to complain. :D

He ran into to someone involved in the project while on other business and they admitted that they didn't like them either.

michaelc

11-11-09, 06:25 PM

Xn0r

11-11-09, 07:42 PM

Is there a way to configure the remote so that pushing Vol +/- while the remote is set to Cable will adjust the TV volume instead of the Moto's?

My mom just wants to turn the TV volume up and down and winds up turning off Stereo sound as a result.
You should be looking on comcast.com support for that. They have FAQs and stuff. But yeh, u can set the remote to do that.

Personally though, I hate the crappy gummy bear remotes comcast has. I have a Harmony 880.

walk

11-11-09, 07:56 PM

It should be setup that way by default.

But you can easily change it. You can have the volume "locked" to a specific device, I used my AV receiver, or have it "unlocked" and follow whatever the Mode button is set on. The codes you need for this stuff are on the wikipedia.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Programming_the_Remote

Look under "volume lock".

abg

11-11-09, 10:36 PM

My brother hated those guide ads so much he called Comcast daily for over 2 mos to complain. :D

He ran into to someone involved in the project while on other business and they admitted that they didn't like them either.

I complained about them in an email to comcast (might have been in a forum; can't remember) when they first showed up and was told "Sorry; deal with it" :confused:

Dospac

11-12-09, 03:36 AM

The guide ads cheapen their service. It feels like netzero with the horrid on screen advertising in exchange for free internet access, except we're paying for the service and renting the hardware. Simply awful.

If the GUI weren't so gd crappy and had an HD/16:9 version it might be less annoying..

Dino520

11-12-09, 02:54 PM

keenan

11-12-09, 03:25 PM

Has anyone noticed that on KPIX(CBS) shows that air during the week at 10pm, when the 50min mark local break happens the return to program is stuttering for about 15-20 secs and then clears up? This would be CSI:Miami, NCIS:LA, CSI:NY, The Mentalist and Numbers. It's been happening for a few weeks now and I thought it would clear up but it hasn't. I guess it's time to initiate contact with KPIX...

I've seen the same thing. As soon that ad comes up at the bottom on the screen + the breaking up on the video and voice. As soon as the ad disappears it clears up. Very annoying.

John

I've been blaming my DVR....., but if you've got it too then either KPIX has a problem or Comcast bandwidth is being scrunched at that time.

KCSM has foreign mystery programs which have subtitles, so they tend to pile up until I have free time. PQ since the transition has dropped even more dramatically than I thought. The sharpness and clarity of those recorded in April amazed me, so much better than newer shows.

Talked to the engineer at KPIX/KBCW today and at first he denied that the problem was at their end and steered the blame toward Comcast, in fact said I was the first person to mention it to them. I told him that seems highly unlikely as the snipe is embedded in the video stream that comes from KPIX. Anyway, he checked The Good Wife from the other night and said that, yes, it was something at their end. The piece of equipment that generates the snipe is at fault and he was contacting the vendor. The problem should disappear very soon.

It's funny because this problem has been going on for at least a month or so, and he claimed that they monitor their signal and nobody noticed anything. I guess who ever is responsible for that monitoring might be in a bit of trouble. :D

keenan

11-12-09, 03:27 PM

Nobody talking about the new hi def channels added yesterday? Buncha HBO SHO Starz Enc and even an MGM! And that's just the movie channels added..Of course I have the premier level of service so maybe not everyone is getting them. Just surprised no one has mentioned it...been a long time coming.

What part of the bay area are you located in? It's likely the World of More channel addition rollout that's been happening all around the bay over the last 7-8 mos or so.

Brian Conrad

11-12-09, 03:40 PM

Talked to the engineer at KPIX/KBCW today and at first he denied that the problem was at their end and steered the blame toward Comcast, in fact said I was the first person to mention it to them. I told him that seems highly unlikely as the snipe is embedded in the video stream that comes from KPIX. Anyway, he checked The Good Wife from the other night and said that, yes, it was something at their end. The piece of equipment that generates the snipe is at fault and he was contacting the vendor. The problem should disappear very soon.

It's funny because this problem has been going on for at least a month or so, and he claimed that they monitor their signal and nobody noticed anything. I guess who ever is responsible for that monitoring might be in a bit of trouble. :D

Despite what people may think people don't seem to bother contacting the engineering departments of the stations. I got the same type of response from KTVU when I contacted the about the discrepancy between network audio levels and the 10 O'clock news audio levels. They appreciated the feedback. Most stations have an email address either general or engineering specific usually under the "Contact" link.

Dino520

11-12-09, 03:41 PM

I'm in Oakland. That roll out hasn't been happening here...until yesterday. Seems like almost 40 new hi def channels...even TCM (YEA!!!)...

keenan

11-12-09, 03:57 PM

Despite what people may think people don't seem to bother contacting the engineering departments of the stations. I got the same type of response from KTVU when I contacted the about the discrepancy between network audio levels and the 10 O'clock news audio levels. They appreciated the feedback. Most stations have an email address either general or engineering specific usually under the "Contact" link.

I don't think I've ever had a response from a "cold" email. Once I contacted the engineering dept at KNTV we conversed quite a bit via email, but the initial contact method, at least in my experience, has been to call the news desk number, as someone is always on that phone, and have them transfer you to engineering. With KNTV it took about 3 phone calls before I got a live body, they didn't return the messages I had left previously.

With KPIX, I left a phone message late yesterday and the engineer called me back this morning.

Never dealt with KTVU, actually I have but that was way back in the days when you needed a waiver to get the LA feed of the HD channel - they never responded.

I have dealt with KGO and if I remember correctly that was also via phone to the news desk to engineering, in fact I'm sure of it.

Persil

11-12-09, 04:03 PM

Did anyone happen to catch the opening to "House" on Monday (KTVU)?

The HD was all horribly broken up. I was about to throw something at the crappy Comcast box as the usual suspect, but then an interesting thing happened... The feed switched to a letterboxed 4:3 feed, presumably the SD version, which was clean. A little while later it went back, but the HD was still bad. It flipped back and forth 2 or 3 times in the first few minutes, and by the first commercial break it seemed to be fixed and stabilized on HD.

I would be curious to know if this means there actually was a human at KTVU watching, or perhaps it was a network problem where they would more likely be paying someone to watch. Or, perhaps even some clever automated failure detector that switched to SD until it felt the HD was OK again?

Either way, much preferable to the usual realization that the entire show was going to be unwatchable.

keenan

11-12-09, 04:09 PM

rritterson

11-12-09, 04:27 PM

World of More additions for next week.....

The City & County of San Francisco will join the “World of More” club on Tuesday, November 17, 2009.

So it's official, the city and county of San Francisco joins the WOM ;)

Laters,
Mikef5

Sweet. Does anyone have a link to the new channel list? The one we got in our bill last month was out of date and didn't include the new channels. I'd like to be aware of which ones will be moving so I can manually schedule the Tivo until the guide update is pushed out.

Also, many thanks for waiting until Mad Men finished before messing with the channels. :)

Brian Conrad

11-12-09, 05:05 PM

I don't think I've ever had a response from a "cold" email. Once I contacted the engineering dept at KNTV we conversed quite a bit via email, but the initial contact method, at least in my experience, has been to call the news desk number, as someone is always on that phone, and have them transfer you to engineering. With KNTV it took about 3 phone calls before I got a live body, they didn't return the messages I had left previously.

With KPIX, I left a phone message late yesterday and the engineer called me back this morning.

Never dealt with KTVU, actually I have but that was way back in the days when you needed a waiver to get the LA feed of the HD channel - they never responded.

I have dealt with KGO and if I remember correctly that was also via phone to the news desk to engineering, in fact I'm sure of it.

I emailed KGO once and got a response the next day. This was back when they would mess up switching between local commercials and the network feed leaving the show in SD. And another time when 5.1 audio was completely screwed up. Remember those days?

As a software engineer it was hard for me to imagine that gear could be so incomprehensible for station engineers. Apparently early HD gear were kludges. :D

Brian Conrad

11-12-09, 05:06 PM

According to the mailing I just got WOM is coming to Martinez on December 15th. I wonder if the Roberts family has ordered their new yacht yet?

gfbuchanan

11-12-09, 09:48 PM

Hi Keenan,

It appears the work on the antennas at Sutro tower has finished. Just wondered if you have had a chance to try the OTA and if it made a difference.

Also, I sent a complaint to KCSM about using a trimed 16x9 signal on Comcast SD and got a reply from an engineer explaining why they were doing it. Once he explained it, I understand, but wish they would switch back to letterbox.
Greg

Mikef5

11-12-09, 09:52 PM

According to the mailing I just got WOM is coming to Martinez on December 15th. I wonder if the Roberts family has ordered their new yacht yet?

It's tied up right next to Murdoch's ( Directv ), Ergen's ( Dish ) and Stephenson's ( AT&T ) yachts :rolleyes:

Laters,
Mikef5

Brian Conrad

11-12-09, 11:22 PM

It's tied up right next to Murdoch's ( Directv ), Ergen's ( Dish ) and Stephenson's ( AT&T ) yachts :rolleyes:

Laters,
Mikef5

Does it have a helipad?

Blk-t

11-12-09, 11:24 PM

I'm in Oakland. That roll out hasn't been happening here...until yesterday. Seems like almost 40 new hi def channels...even TCM (YEA!!!)...

What part of Oakland are you in? What system (Tivo or Comcast box) do you have? I am by the Lake using the Tivo HD and I haven't seen any new channels. Might be time for a forced restart...

nikeykid

11-12-09, 11:49 PM

What part of Oakland are you in? What system (Tivo or Comcast box) do you have? I am by the Lake using the Tivo HD and I haven't seen any new channels. Might be time for a forced restart...

i went to settings-->channels-->channel list and added each manually

hey where is nfl redzone HD that i keep hearing about?? do i need to subscribe to the sports pack to get it?

keenan

11-13-09, 12:03 AM

It's tied up right next to Murdoch's ( Directv ), Ergen's ( Dish ) and Stephenson's ( AT&T ) yachts :rolleyes:

Laters,
Mikef5

Murdoch sold his to Malone(Liberty Media nows own DirecTV). :)

keenan

11-13-09, 12:04 AM

keenan

11-13-09, 12:06 AM

According to the mailing I just got WOM is coming to Martinez on December 15th. I wonder if the Roberts family has ordered their new yacht yet?

Nah, they bought a whole multi-media corporation instead, NBC/Universal. All kinds of yachts there. :p

BTW, for anyone who's interested, Amy Banse of Comcast talks about TV Everywhere/Comcast On Demand Online. (http://www.livestream.com/gigaomtv/video/beta?dirId=1837712619646189906&clipId=pla_c71423ac-0aee-4f77-b016-cd442872af0f) Apparently it launches in Dec.

millerwill

11-13-09, 12:39 AM

hey where is nfl redzone HD that i keep hearing about?? do i need to subscribe to the sports pack to get it?

Yes.

snidely

11-13-09, 01:03 AM

I'm in Oakland. That roll out hasn't been happening here...until yesterday. Seems like almost 40 new hi def channels...even TCM (YEA!!!)...
This was announced for Okld. last month and all the channels on the card they sent out are working.
Problem is, of course, that many so-called HD channels broadcast almost no HD. I thought that I now might see John Stewart and Colbert in HD - but like virtually evrything else on C. Central - it is SD. Only advantage is that the HD channel is the eastern feed - so can now record and watch earlier in the evening.
Disadvantage is that I may be afraid of burn-in watching a lot of 4:3 broadcasts on our plasma.

...mike

snidely

11-13-09, 01:09 AM

What part of Oakland are you in? What system (Tivo or Comcast box) do you have? I am by the Lake using the Tivo HD and I haven't seen any new channels. Might be time for a forced restart...

I am on Comcast about 6 blocks from the lake. Everything showed up as it should on the Comcast guide last nite.

...mike

aforkosh

11-13-09, 03:15 AM

I'm in Oakland and got the WOM package on November 12 (at least I got the channels on the TV). Now for rant 1 (meant for Comcast):

Comcast has not updated their website to show the new channels. It's not as if they haven't rolled out the same package in most of the Bay Area already. They do need to tweek some of the local channels, but the bulk of the package would be right. To me, rolling out a change means not only putting out the new signal but also supporting material such as channel lineups and accurate schedules.

Here's Rant 2 (directed at zap2it and TiVo):

Since the TiVo program listings haven't been yet been updated (i.e. the channels that moved still have their program listings at the old locations), I temporarily loaded in a the set for a neighboring zip code that changed several weeks ago. I was surprised to see that HBO and Showtime (which moved) are showing program information for the East Coast feed but the actual programming is the West Coast feed. Again, since this is a change that is occurring throughout the Bay Area, I surprised it is not been fixed by now. As I do most of Sunday evening programming on both channels, this meant a major work in converting program Season Passes to Manual Recording Season Passes.

So, if you have been WOMed, have a TiVO HD or Series 3 and subscribe to HBO and/or Showtime, are your listings for channels 801 and 825 correct or 3 hours early? If they are correct, could you tell me your Zip Code? I may use your Zip Code for my TiVo settings temporarily.

Thanks,

nikeykid

11-13-09, 03:26 AM

chinapaulo

11-13-09, 11:02 AM

Since the TiVo program listings haven't been yet been updated (i.e. the channels that moved still have their program listings at the old locations), I temporarily loaded in a the set for a neighboring zip code that changed several weeks ago.

Hey -- I'm in Oakland, too (94610), and I'm in the same TiVo situation (no guide info for the new channels yet). What ZIP code did you use to get the guide data?

Larry Kenney

11-13-09, 03:21 PM

I emailed KGO once and got a response the next day. This was back when they would mess up switching between local commercials and the network feed leaving the show in SD. And another time when 5.1 audio was completely screwed up. Remember those days?

As a software engineer it was hard for me to imagine that gear could be so incomprehensible for station engineers. Apparently early HD gear were kludges. :D

I sure remember those days. Kludges they were! As a former technical director in Master Control at KGO (now retired) I look back at those early days of HD and wonder how we did as well as we did.

Everything was set up for the analog channel back then, with the digital channel as a secondary step-child. It just followed along with whatever went on the analog channel until we had a program in HD from the network. We then had to make three extra switches... video, audio and the stereo to 5.1 change. Trying to do it all at once and making it look good was a real challenge. We didn't have enough fingers. LOL

Overtime, of course, the entire station was changed over from analog to digital, new switching equipment was installed to make the switching process easier, then they later installed an automation system where the computer did all of the switching for the four channels - analog, digital 7-1 (cable 707), 7-2 (cable 715) and 7-3 (cable 195). The analog channel became a slave to the digital, and then disappeared back in June altogether. (The picture you see on cable channel 7 is the same as 707 with the sides cut off.)

The times sure have changed in the past 10 years! I'm sure it was the same at the other channels, too.

Larry
SF

Cal1981

11-13-09, 03:58 PM

Did anyone happen to catch any of the Sharks-Stars game on 721 last night. I got a lot of intermittent video flashing that really got annoying, especially in the second period.

aforkosh

11-13-09, 07:04 PM

Hey -- I'm in Oakland, too (94610), and I'm in the same TiVo situation (no guide info for the new channels yet). What ZIP code did you use to get the guide data?

I'm also in 94610. I used 94709 (Berkeley). If you do it, have a Zap2it page open to the same zip code for Comcast Digital so that you can give the appropriate responses when it asks which stations are broadcasting at various locations. Note that Berkeley has some of the 2-digit stations in different locations than Oakland. For example, Versus is at 75 (not 81), KVIE is at 15 (rather than KTEH). However, since I don't watch those stations, I don't really care. My primary aim was to get HDTV prgram data (ok except where the wrong time zone is used as I ranted about in the original message).

I am assuming that Zap2It will catch up in a week or so and I can then reset the TiVo to the correct zip code. If the time zone problem remains, I'll file complaints with TiVo and Zap2it at that time.

By the way, Comcast still is not showing a channel line-up for 94610 on the website.

Jack Hidley

11-13-09, 07:19 PM

I just received a mailing from Comcast indicating that WOM would be coming to Danville on Dec 15th. I guess I'm finally forced to call Direct Tv now.

chinapaulo

11-13-09, 07:35 PM

I'm also in 94610. I used 94709 (Berkeley).

...

By the way, Comcast still is not showing a channel line-up for 94610 on the website.

Alan,

Thanks for the info. For what it's worth, I've played around with my setup using my Slingbox today (from work... heh). And I think the Alameda lineup is working -- no need to fake out TiVo with Zap2It. I think I used 94501. I haven't looked at many of the SD channels (who cares, right? I might remove all of my SD channels from the guide...), but the HD channels seem to be correct.

Here's the good news: HBO (801) and Showtime (825) come up as HBOHDP and SHOHDP respectively and seem to be in sync with the guide data. Try it out!

When I get home, I'll be able to do some more comparison -- I have a crappy Comcast DVR downstairs which should have 100% correct data to compare to.

As for Comcast not showing the channel lineup on the website, I noticed that -- how lame.

-Paul

Vogon_guard

11-13-09, 10:59 PM

Living in San Francisco I have been enjoying redzone in SD for several weeks now but just bought an HD TV and got an HD tuner from Comcast. I am eager to find out if Redzone HD comes in at my location (94122). I don't see it listed on my guide but I see that some people are experiencing Redzone HD in place of the "SHOHD" channel on 785. For the people experiencing this do you still see "SHOHD" listed and get an "unauthorized" message when trying to view it not on Sundays? Is this "World of More" people are talking about in San Francisco? Basically, can I see Redzone in HD in San Francisco? The guy I talked to at Comcast didn't know and suggested that I flip around the different stations on Sunday to see if I can find it.

Thanks

millerwill

11-13-09, 11:07 PM

Vogon_guard

11-13-09, 11:17 PM

millerwill

11-14-09, 12:16 AM

Thanks millerwill. I do have the sports package as I have been watching redzone for a few weeks but 785 is still labeled SHOHD for me and doesn't have the "off-Air" screen that the standard definition red zone channel (427) has. Do you think having the older version of the hd dvr box makes a difference? I have the one with no HDMI and I need to go and exchange it.

Thanks

I do have my DCX connected via HDMI, but I doubt that this makes a difference. May just be that the WOM has not yet gotten completely loaded into at your location.

Good luck!

curtis82

11-14-09, 01:14 AM

Vogon_guard

11-14-09, 02:18 AM

Thanks curtis, I suppose I can suffer through SD for another week :)

aforkosh

11-14-09, 02:38 AM

Alan,

Thanks for the info. For what it's worth, I've played around with my setup using my Slingbox today (from work... heh). And I think the Alameda lineup is working -- no need to fake out TiVo with Zap2It. I think I used 94501. I haven't looked at many of the SD channels (who cares, right? I might remove all of my SD channels from the guide...), but the HD channels seem to be correct.

Here's the good news: HBO (801) and Showtime (825) come up as HBOHDP and SHOHDP respectively and seem to be in sync with the guide data. Try it out!
....
-Paul

Thanks for the tip on 94501. I checked out the Zap2it listing for Sunday and it looks like it got the HD versions of AMC, HBO, and Showtime right (Eastern for AMC, Pacific for the others). The one oddity on Zap2it was that alternate choices for that zip code included Brentwood. I notice that 15 is still not KTEH, but I look at that only occasionally.

I'll reprogram the Tivo in the morning.

nikeykid

11-15-09, 01:36 PM

am i in heaven?? just got wom and upgraded my service to include the sports tier. NFL REDZONE HD = DROOL.

Tom Koegel

11-15-09, 11:26 PM

keenan

11-15-09, 11:40 PM

I'm not seeing any issues with this game, no blockiness or artifacting.

KNTV is a bit of an oddity in the bay area. The HD signal that you get from DirecTV is a fiber feed from KNTV, the rest of the major channels are via an OTA antenna farm. Comcast gets KNTV's signal both ways depending on where the local system is located.

Check the main thread for this game, I think I saw some comments from DirecTV users about PQ problems.

That Don Guy

11-16-09, 10:17 AM

i'll pile on... comedy central HD is hiding as QVCHD and NFLREDZONEHD is hiding as SHOHD on my tivo
And I have two channels listed as AMC HD - unfortunately, the one that has program listings is actually Disney, so I got quite a surprise when I thought I was recording The Prisoner on Sunday night.

(I was surprised when TiVo let me do a manual recording on the correct channel, without any listings (the channel is in the guide, but it just says "To Be Announced" on the left side and is blank on the right side) - in the past, when I tried this, it would start record, but would stop less than a minute later.)

-- Don

walk

11-16-09, 03:00 PM

I noticed a lot of macroblocking on the CBS game, the PQ was pretty mediocre most of the game really, and a complete mess at times. I also even saw a decent amount during the NBC night game. But the local NBC channel here is notorious for adding subchannels to compromise the PQ..

Cal1981

11-16-09, 05:23 PM

Anyone watching this Sunday night game? I'm not a big football guy, but between this game and the odd CFB game I've picked on KNTV or KCBS, the quality seems quite poor. Much digital blockiness with fast pans or fast movement. I'm watching on D*, so I'm wondering if this is D* issue or whether those watching on Comcast are seeing the same thing? Another possibility is that I'm sensitive to the limits of 1080i for fast action. Don't recall noticing this issue on ABC/ESPN games.

Hmm... I thought that the PQ was pretty good overall. The one thing that always gets me is that when a game is played in a dome with certain brands of artificial turf, I never get a very green looking field with decent color saturation. Ther players uniforms look good but the field can look pretty bland at times.

keenan

11-16-09, 06:03 PM

Hmm... I thought that the PQ was pretty good overall. The one thing that always gets me is that when a game is played in a dome with certain brands of artificial turf, I never get a very green looking field with decent color saturation. Ther players uniforms look good but the field can look pretty bland at times.

The field was bland, but the actual colors of last night's broadcast were probably very accurate, not like some of the ESPN/ABC college games I've seen where the colors are saturated beyond reality. Since NBC went to MPEG4 for the network distribution their PQ has been very good, I haven't notice any of the pixelation/blockiness that plagued their broadcasts in the past.

KNTV arguably puts out the best quality signal in bay area, even with their sub-channels. Their PQ is good and their audio is outstanding. KPIX, while the PQ is good, their audio is awful, having way too much compression and weird dial-norm settings, everything is loud, no dynamic range. KTVU is very good also, but a lot of their programming, especially the football games can have a fuzzy/grainy look to it. KGO has a soft image, been watching a lot of their newscasts lately and it has an overall softness to it, plus I think they still have issues with their encoders that induces blurring on sports events like basketball.

Jobius

11-16-09, 11:24 PM

Anyone hear when San Francisco gets the new HD channels? I got a flyer a few weeks ago saying that today (11/16) was the day, but they're not here yet...

Vogon_guard

11-17-09, 12:14 AM

Jobius, I just asked a related question and the answer I got is that tomorrow (11/17) is the day.

keenan

11-17-09, 04:57 AM

Hamel

11-17-09, 08:54 AM

Jobius, I just asked a related question and the answer I got is that tomorrow (11/17) is the day.

Yippee! San Francisco finally has WGN-America HD (and many other WOM channels, I would assume). Go Sox, Cubs, Bulls, and Black Hawks! :)

fender4645

11-17-09, 12:40 PM

A followup to your post above. Apparently this has been completed in areas of Washington and Oregon (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23037176) as of Tuesday morning.

Okay, I _really_ hope this doesn't happen here. I just spent the entire weekend building an HTPC with the HDHomerun and configuring everything. (totally enjoying it by the way...I can't believe I didn't do it sooner)

Brian Conrad

11-17-09, 03:42 PM

And I have two channels listed as AMC HD - unfortunately, the one that has program listings is actually Disney, so I got quite a surprise when I thought I was recording The Prisoner on Sunday night.

(I was surprised when TiVo let me do a manual recording on the correct channel, without any listings (the channel is in the guide, but it just says "To Be Announced" on the left side and is blank on the right side) - in the past, when I tried this, it would start record, but would stop less than a minute later.)

-- Don

Comcast here had "the Prisoner" listed as 1 hour episodes. They are actually two hour with the next "chapter" starting a few minute before the second hour. Sort of annoying if you wanted to watch them an episode at a time.

keenan

11-17-09, 05:47 PM

Okay, I _really_ hope this doesn't happen here. I just spent the entire weekend building an HTPC with the HDHomerun and configuring everything. (totally enjoying it by the way...I can't believe I didn't do it sooner)

I'd be shocked if it didn't happen here, I fully expect shortly after all bay area systems have their WoM rollout is when they'll start the encryption on the Expanded Basic channels.

The HDHR is a great device, great dollar to performance ratio, one of the best purchases I've ever made. :)

That Don Guy

11-17-09, 05:47 PM

Comcast here had "the Prisoner" listed as 1 hour episodes. They are actually two hour with the next "chapter" starting a few minute before the second hour. Sort of annoying if you wanted to watch them an episode at a time.
That's probably why TiVo is notorious for combining separate episodes of a show into a single "program" (it will list both titles separated by a semicolon) when they air new episodes (and, occasionally, repeats) one right after the other.

-- Don

rritterson

11-17-09, 09:58 PM

Well, we got all of the channels and they showed up in the list of availables, but weren't added to my Tivo guide automatically. I had to go to the channel list and specify I received them. There is no guide info for the new channels yet. The only difficulty I have had so far is 769 is still listed as AMC when it's actually some Disney Channel now. I had to reschedule a recording of the Prisoner as a manual recording on the new AMC 798.

I think the new channels showed up automatically via information coming through the Cable Card. Of course the guide info comes from Tribune and probably isn't up to date yet.

cgy1

11-18-09, 02:06 AM

I'm in San Francisco and is it just me or is ESPNU on 788 broadcasting in SD instead of HD?

My TV flickers when it switches between HD and SD channels and it's always flickering now when I change between 778 and another HD channel, so I'm suspecting that the channel is being broadcast in SD.

keenan

11-18-09, 02:26 AM

720p here in Santa Rosa, Charlotte/Duke BB game.

cgy1

11-18-09, 11:30 AM

720p here in Santa Rosa, Charlotte/Duke BB game.

Interesting. I am definitely only getting 480i for this channel, and it seems to be the only channel in the 700s HD range to be broadcast in 480i instead of 720p or 1080i for every other channel (regardless of whether a program is in HD or not).

emailchristof

11-18-09, 03:59 PM

Does anyone have the name and phone number for a good San Francisco sales rep? I'm trying to sign up for new service and am looking for a cable TV-only deal.

aforkosh

11-18-09, 10:27 PM

mpatnode

11-19-09, 12:19 AM

A followup to your post above. Apparently this has been completed in areas of Washington and Oregon (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23037176) as of Tuesday morning.

All that means is the analog signals above 30 have stopped, it doesn't mean they are encrypting all the extended basic channels. Note is says "digital device" which simply means any digital tuner. You'll know they've encrypted them when even using the SiliconDust info, you still can't tune the channel.

keenan

11-19-09, 01:50 AM

All that means is the analog signals above 30 have stopped, it doesn't mean they are encrypting all the extended basic channels. Note is says "digital device" which simply means any digital tuner. You'll know they've encrypted them when even using the SiliconDust info, you still can't tune the channel.

That's not what the memo (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r23149536-)says that was posted in that thread.

RE: Content Protection Rollout

As part of Project Cavalry, Comcast began deploying digital transport adapters, or DTAs, to provide Comcast’s Expanded Basic analog customers with digital service. Since the start of Project Cavalry, Comcast had to turn off encryption (also known as digital content protection) on Expanded Basic channels for a limited period of time. Due to a recent FCC ruling, Comcast is now able to deploy digital content protection technology to DTAs. Comcast has begun notifying customers about its plans to “turn on” digital content protection on DTAs that have been deployed to date.

Potentially Impacted Customers

At-Risk Customers are any customers who have a QAM tuner TV not connected to digital device. This includes these three situations:

û QAM TVs with Expanded Basic or Digital Starter level of service NOT connected to a digital device
After the encryption process, these customers will need a digital device to view all channels in their package.

û QAM TVs receiving over-the-air HD channels
These customers will no longer be able to view over-the-air high-definition broadcast channels without adding an A/B switch. [more info]

û QAM TVs with Limited Basic service that have been receiving Expanded Basic channels in the clear.

These customers will not be able to receive the Expanded Basic channel lineup without upgrading their level of service and obtaining a digital device.

I realize that Comcast hasn't encrypted the Expanded Basic tier here in the bay area, yet, but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that it is going to happen, no question about it. There's no way Comcast is going to allow Limited Basic subs to receive that Expanded Basic level of service without paying for it.

mpatnode

11-19-09, 11:36 AM

I realize that Comcast hasn't encrypted the Expanded Basic tier here in the bay area, yet, but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that it is going to happen, no question about it. There's no way Comcast is going to allow Limited Basic subs to receive that Expanded Basic level of service without paying for it.

Right. I agree it's coming, but just because they say it won't work, doesn't mean they've actually implemented it. I already pay for expanded basic. This is going to force me to pay another $150/yr for two cable cards. I'd simply like to avoid that as long as possible.

The more interesting question is has anyone actually seen the expanded basic channels go encrypted in other areas (vs just get marked protected, which will prevent many scans from picking them up)? I'd heard the original DTAs didn't include the crypto module, but they were going to try a online-firmware upgrade. I suspect that's easier said than done.

dandrewk

11-19-09, 12:53 PM

wco81

11-19-09, 01:14 PM

Is that still coming?

Since Tivo supposedly is working with D* again and since their products now have CableCard slots, I figured that was the extent of their support of cable.

keenan

11-19-09, 01:54 PM

Right. I agree it's coming, but just because they say it won't work, doesn't mean they've actually implemented it. I already pay for expanded basic. This is going to force me to pay another $150/yr for two cable cards. I'd simply like to avoid that as long as possible.

The more interesting question is has anyone actually seen the expanded basic channels go encrypted in other areas (vs just get marked protected, which will prevent many scans from picking them up)? I'd heard the original DCTs didn't include the crypto module, but they were going to try a online-firmware upgrade. I suspect that's easier said than done.

I'm not sure what you mean in the underlined above, who's they and what won't work?

You say $150 for CCs? I'm guessing that includes Additional Outlet charges to reach that number? It doesn't seem to be entirely clear whether Comcast is charging an AO fee on CableCARDS, I have 2 in a TiVo-S3 and 1 in a TiVo-HD and until I rented a Comcast DVR recently I had no AO charges, and in fact, was told the AO charge I now have is because of the Comcast DVR. I know there are others here that aren't paying AO's for CCs either.

I'm not sure how the encryption works, that "protected" method you speak of is new to me. It might be worthwhile to follow the AVS Comcast thread for the area mentioned in the BBR thread as well as the BBR thread itself.

keenan

11-19-09, 02:03 PM

I'm really not wanting to shell out over $400 + sub. cost for HD TiVO. But I'm also really hating this Moto piece of cr*& DVR. It gets worse as time goes on.

Any word on Comcast TiVO coming to the Bay Area? I'd hate to buy a unit and then find it's available for free from Comcast.

TIA for any info.

Is that still coming?

Since Tivo supposedly is working with D* again and since their products now have CableCard slots, I figured that was the extent of their support of cable.
I saw the Comcast/Moto/TiVo unit way back at CES, I think it was 2006, but haven't seen or played with one since then, but in my opinion, any DVR system that resides on the Motorola hardware platform is going to be less than ideal.

BTW, TiVo has their DVRs on sale now, the lowest prices they've ever been.

New TiVos (https://www3.tivo.com/store/boxes.do)
Factory Renewed (https://www3.tivo.com/store/boxes.do?type=renewed&WT.ac=tivohome_refurb79_fall09_img)

DAP

11-19-09, 02:57 PM

That's not what the memo (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r23149536-)says that was posted in that thread.

I realize that Comcast hasn't encrypted the Expanded Basic tier here in the bay area, yet, but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that it is going to happen, no question about it. There's no way Comcast is going to allow Limited Basic subs to receive that Expanded Basic level of service without paying for it.

The unfortunate thing about this is that there is no need to encrypt the expanded basic channels. All they would need to do is move those channels into the limited basic filter cut off range (channels 35 to 70), and those who don't pay for expanded basic wont get those channels, since they all already have the filter installed.
That would allow those with expanded basic to use their TVs tuner rather than having to suffer the horrible user interface of cable company supplied hardware.
As far as I'm concerned, if I don't own the hardware it doesn't come inside my house.

mpatnode

11-19-09, 03:21 PM

I'm not sure what you mean in the underlined above, who's they and what won't work?

If you believed Comcast's FAQ, all QAM channels above 30 should of stopped working in June. But all they did was stop the analog broadcast. The DTAs they distributed don't have crypto capabilities (yet).

You say $150 for CCs? I'm guessing that includes Additional Outlet charges to reach that number?

I haven't called recently, but at the beginning of the year it was something like $9/mo for the first CableCARD and $3/mo for the second. Which works out to $150/yr. You get two DTA's for free, so if you wanted to go with a dual IR blaster solution, you could do that (uhg!).

I'm not sure how the encryption works, that "protected" method you speak of is new to me. It might be worthwhile to follow the AVS Comcast thread for the area mentioned in the BBR thread as well as the BBR thread itself.

It's actually the "Privacy mode" bit being set on the broadcast. Check out this GreenButton post (http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/p/78032/385684.aspx#385684)

keenan

11-19-09, 03:30 PM

If you believed Comcast's FAQ, all QAM channels above 30 should of stopped working in June. But all they did was stop the analog broadcast. The DTAs they distributed don't have crypto capabilities (yet).
That's here in the bay area right? The above memo and links refer to what's happening in Oregon... unless I'm missing what you mean, which is entirely possible. :D

I haven't called recently, but at the beginning of the year it was something like $9/mo for the first CableCARD and $3/mo for the second. Which works out to $150/yr. You get two DTA's for free, so if you wanted to go with a dual IR blaster solution, you could do that (uhg!).
I'm not sure where you got those numbers but the first CC is free and each additional CC is $1.70 per month. Again, it's unclear whether Comcast charges an Additional Outlet fee for extra cards as I know I don't pay it and others here have stated they don't either.

It's actually the "Privacy mode" bit being set on the broadcast. Check out this GreenButton post (http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/p/78032/385684.aspx#385684)
I'll take a look, thanks.

fender4645

11-19-09, 03:32 PM

I'm not sure what you mean in the underlined above, who's they and what won't work?

You say $150 for CCs? I'm guessing that includes Additional Outlet charges to reach that number? It doesn't seem to be entirely clear whether Comcast is charging an AO fee on CableCARDS, I have 2 in a TiVo-S3 and 1 in a TiVo-HD and until I rented a Comcast DVR recently I had no AO charges, and in fact, was told the AO charge I now have is because of the Comcast DVR. I know there are others here that aren't paying AO's for CCs either.

I think that's right. I have the same setup (1 Tivo S3, 1 TivoHD, and 1 Comcast box) and I don't get charged any AO fees. The way I took this was that I'm not charged AO fees for the CableCARDs and the Comcast STB is included in my package.

Xn0r

11-19-09, 04:39 PM

keenan

11-19-09, 06:38 PM

I think that's right. I have the same setup (1 Tivo S3, 1 TivoHD, and 1 Comcast box) and I don't get charged any AO fees. The way I took this was that I'm not charged AO fees for the CableCARDs and the Comcast STB is included in my package.

I am charged 1 AO fee, likely because the Comcast device I have is one of their DVRs. If I had got one of the regular boxes the AO fee may not have been added as the package I have includes a digital device as well.

keenan

11-19-09, 06:42 PM

From what I've seen from Comcast, "your charges may vary". They tried to charge me for a bunch of extra stuff when I got my cable card, jacked my bill like $25. I called and complained and first the CSR tried to justify it, but his explanation made no sense. Finally he took a few of the charges off and reduced it about $10.

$15 is still way too much, it should be $1.70 and a $7.50 AO fee if you have additional Comcast equipment already. In fact, if it's only the one card, the card itself may not be charged, I can't remember how that works. I know I only pay for the one M-Card for the TiVo-HD, the 2 S-cards in the S3 have never been on the bill.

mpatnode

11-19-09, 07:02 PM

That's here in the bay area right? The above memo and links refer to what's happening in Oregon...

Right. I'm just trying to confirm if things are REALLY encrypted in Oregon, or they just turned on the privacy bit to make QAM tuners think the channel is encrypted.

I'm not sure where you got those numbers but the first CC is free and each additional CC is $1.70 per month.

Doh! Just verified you are correct. I could swear that's what I was told in February. Since the DRM stuff is fixed in the most recent ATI bios (http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4361&Itemid=1), I'm now going for it. They are charging $14.99 for installation. I'd do it myself, but for that amount it's worth having the tech verify all my signals are good.

keenan

11-19-09, 07:17 PM

Right. I'm just trying to confirm if things are REALLY encrypted in Oregon, or they just turned on the privacy bit to make QAM tuners think the channel is encrypted.
Yeah, I don't know, I'm following that thread at BBR to see what develops, haven't looked for the corresponding area thread here at AVS yet.

Doh! Just verified you are correct. I could swear that's what I was told in February. Since the DRM stuff is fixed in the most recent ATI bios (http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4361&Itemid=1), I'm now going for it. They are charging $14.99 for installation. I'd do it myself, but for that amount it's worth having the tech verify all my signals are good.

To install the CableCARD? They hand them out over the counter here in Santa Rosa, but yes, if you want the signals checked then the install is probably wise.

keenan

11-19-09, 07:51 PM

It's actually the "Privacy mode" bit being set on the broadcast. Check out this GreenButton post (http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/p/78032/385684.aspx#385684)

Okay, I read your postings and also the AnandTech article and if I've read it right it seems that the Expanded Basic channels are coming from the headend with light encryption that the DTA can be set to pass or not pass. If set to pass, the DTA converts the digital signal to RF for the analog output.

The headache with this is it makes clear-QAM tuners and analog tuners useful for only the Limited Basic tier. Instead of being able to plug the cable into your display's QAM tuner(or any other clear-QAM device such as a HDHR), or analog tuner, as you can now and receive the Standard Cable package(Limited + Expanded), you now have to use a Comcast digital device to decrypt the Expanded Basic so they can be viewed. The other alternative is to use the DTA which only outputs an analog RF signal which many new digital displays can't do much with, no analog tuner in them and/or only one coaxial input.

Looked at the Comcast Portland thread and from the comments posted (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17548642&highlight=#post17548642) it seems clear that clear-QAM Expanded basic channels are gone, they are no longer accessible with clear-QAM tuners. To receive those channels in a digital format a Comcast digital device is needed, such as a CableCARD or Comcast supplied STB.

fender4645

11-19-09, 11:49 PM

Looked at the Comcast Portland thread and from the comments posted (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17548642&highlight=#post17548642) it seems clear that clear-QAM Expanded basic channels are gone, they are no longer accessible with clear-QAM tuners. To receive those channels in a digital format a Comcast digital device is needed, such as a CableCARD or Comcast supplied STB.

I wouldn't care so much if they made the freakin' CableCARD tuners somewhat affordable. To charge $500 for 2 tuners is just outrageous, especially when the same technology is in a $300 Tivo where you essentially get the computer and hard drive with it.

diskus

11-20-09, 11:59 PM

Has anyone else with a Tivo had their Comcast CA on 721 Guide data somehow replaced with 721 Data that seems to be Comcast from Wash DC?

snidely

11-21-09, 06:11 PM

Thought we'd replace the old Sony 20" tube set in bdrm. w. wall hung 32" plasma. (We have 6412 DVR feed 50" plasma in LR).
Turns out that they charge MORE for a 2nd box than the first box. No volume discount fm. Comcast<G>. And we don't need DVR box in bdrm., just a box to decode HD. I think she quoted $14/mo!!!! (Maybe she said $14.99) A 2nd DVR box would be $16. Is this a correct quote?
I'll need to pull out our Miami Comcast bill to see what they are charging us for 2 HD DVRs there. The pricing might be different because, like many hi-rise condos, many of the services are included under a master contract. HBO, SHO and others are included. We do pay for the DVRs but can't recall the cost.
Is there an alternative to this?

...mike

Xn0r

11-21-09, 07:13 PM

Pricing also varies depending on area with Comcast.

marc.aronson

11-22-09, 11:33 AM

My DVR is a home-brew mythtv setup. It has worked well using Comcast as a source so far, but the encryption of the expanded basic tier is the final straw that makes using Comcast with mythtv too painful to deal with. I've already got problems where sometimes I loose a recording because of the CCI flag shutting off the firewire feed from the Comcast-provided DCT-6200, thus inhibiting HD recordings that aren't also accessible via clear QAM.

I've started making phone calls and I've found 2 alternatives to Comcast that look reasonable -- AT&T U-VERSE and dishnet. In either case I will have to give up mythtv, but the U-VERSE DVR looks very good so I will probably go that route.

I'm currently paying Comcast close to $100/month -- does anyone know if there is anyone I should try to contact in Comcast to resolve my concerns before I simply terminate my service with them? ie, Is there anyone at Comcast who both cares about customer retention AND has the authority to resolve the kind of problem their changes have created for me?

Marc

nikeykid

11-22-09, 01:05 PM

gahhh anyone having trouble with redzone HD? redzone SD is working :(

Cal1981

11-22-09, 01:12 PM

gahhh anyone having trouble with redzone HD? redzone SD is working :(

Yeah, Redzone HD is down here (Comcast in Vallejo).

nikeykid

11-22-09, 01:15 PM

hope they fix it soon. right cuz since i'm watching packers niners anyway i don't really need it until 1pm

its back now :)

Mikef5

11-22-09, 03:07 PM

hope they fix it soon. right cuz since i'm watching packers niners anyway i don't really need it until 1pm

its back now :)

It's working in Milpitas, too much pain to watch the 49er's, last score I saw was 23 to 3 :(

Laters,
Mikef5

Menzo

11-22-09, 10:47 PM

aforkosh

11-23-09, 03:37 AM

Any idea how long it usually takes for TiVO's guide info to get updated when new channels pop up? I love getting more HD but I had seeing "to be announced" on 30 channels! Plus, some of them are wrong, of course.

Oakland got the new channels on November 12 and the online schedule available from Comcast's website still has not been updated. This makes it hard to complain to TiVo (which uses the Zap2it schedule) that they are out of date. The problem is that some channels of the HD channels use the East Coast feed (TNT and AMC for example) while others (HBO and Showtime) use the Pacific feed. It would be nice to have a complete sample (for example one actually provided by the cable provider) to point at.

In the meantime, thanks to another poster, I have temporarily pointed my Tivo to a zip code (94501--Alameda) that has had its HD channels set up properly. The channels for some of non-HD channels do not correspond, so this is not a permanent solution. As I said in an earlier posting. if you go this route, when you make the change, have a channel listing for the zip code you are using available to you--to get the correct feed, your TiVo will ask you what network is being broadcast on several channels.

Xn0r

11-23-09, 04:45 PM

Any idea how long it usually takes for TiVO's guide info to get updated when new channels pop up? I love getting more HD but I had seeing "to be announced" on 30 channels! Plus, some of them are wrong, of course.
It took Tivo/Tribune et al ~3 months to get my line up straightened out.

I don't know how many lineup reports I filed, but a bunch of 'em. Seems to help to push from this end. If no lineup report is filed, I'm not sure if anything would have been done (presuming no one else was filing them for my lineup). Typically, a lineup report would result in a fix 7-10 days after it was filed. Painfully slow, but it got done.

viperx116

11-25-09, 11:03 PM

Holy crap, Fox is showing Seinfeld in HD? That's so awesome.

R Miyashiro

11-26-09, 04:26 AM

Like some have mentioned Comcast is charging me $1.70 for both cards which I had to pick up from their office near the Mission since the guy who dropped off the Motorola STB/DVRs (who forgot to activate the boxes!) didn't have them on him. Fortunately a simple all the next week to Comcast was all it took to activate it. They were out of dual tuner cards so gave me two singles which works just as well. Seriously, why does Comcast insist on charging us to send an incompetent tech guy (who left a big bag full of interconnects here) to plug in a couple of boxes if he isn't even going to activate the boxes, especially if I have to make a trip to their offices to pick up things that weren't delivered upon installation?

Grrr... I just realized that Comcast/Tivo has mismapped AMCHD with Disney HD. Like many above I really hope that these two companies can get the programming data synced up since it has been over a week of "TBA."

Holy crap, Fox is showing Seinfeld in HD? That's so awesome.

I felt the same way when UHD was airing Northern Exposure in HD. There are a number of 4:3 shows that deserve HD remasters.

Mikef5

11-26-09, 12:05 PM

The next areas to get the World of More....

Next up is Napa, Yountville, Sonoma, St. Helena, Glen Ellen and American Canyon which add the new high-definition channels on Thursday, December 3, 2009.
We are still on track to finish the project before the end of the year in the Bay Area.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all. Hope you all have a good holiday and be safe.

Laters,
Mikef5

aforkosh

11-26-09, 02:05 PM

Oakland got the new channels on November 12 and the online schedule available from Comcast's website still has not been updated. This makes it hard to complain to TiVo (which uses the Zap2it schedule) that they are out of date. The problem is that some channels of the HD channels use the East Coast feed (TNT and AMC for example) while others (HBO and Showtime) use the Pacific feed. It would be nice to have a complete sample (for example one actually provided by the cable provider) to point at.

As of late last night, Zap2it finally updated its listing with the new Oakland channel assignments (at least for zip code 94610). So I reset my TiVo to the correct zip code and all seems well.

By the way, the Comcast web listings are now also correct.

It only took 2 weeks.

dandrewk

11-26-09, 03:57 PM

Xn0r

11-26-09, 05:11 PM

How does one go about getting a CableCard? Simply go down to the local office and request one, or do I have to have a service visit. It is mine of the asking, or is there a hoop I have to pass thru to get one?
You can just go down to the office and pick one up. Then you'll have to call and get it activated (unless they do it at the office ... which they never seem to do or do right at least).

dandrewk

11-27-09, 11:59 AM

Thanks. When going to the local Comcast office, do I need to bring the TiVO with me, or just the MAC (etc) numbers?

nikeykid

11-27-09, 12:03 PM

Thanks. When going to the local Comcast office, do I need to bring the TiVO with me, or just the MAC (etc) numbers?

no they'll just hand you an M-card. you put it in yourself and call comcast.

Brian Conrad

11-27-09, 03:17 PM

I'm curious if those who now have WOM have lost any HD channels they had previously? According to the lineup I received some channels move to another tier. Or are people still getting what they had because of "grandfathering."

dandrewk

11-27-09, 10:25 PM

reel_fan

11-27-09, 10:43 PM

snidely

11-28-09, 04:29 AM

OK. I want to put a "small" flat screen in the bdrm. We have a 6412 DVR for our main 50". Don't need another. Comcast wants $14/mo. for a plain HD box. I see in a post above I could buy a Tivo for $200!
Is there some kind of simple HD box I could get? Maybe even an old Tivo where the recording function is broken? How much does Comcast charge for a "card", which I understand is necessary. Would Comcast still charge some sort of "extra outlet" fee?

TIA

If we have to, we'll just watch SD for "free" on the bdrm flat screen that should be in next week or so. (Got a 32" Panny LCD. Was going to buy a no name for nearly $100 less - but decided why not stick w. what's worked. No problems over the years w.our 2 Panny 50" plasmas, son's Panny plasma, other son's Panny etc.)

...mike

cgould

11-28-09, 12:11 PM

Got the new TiVO HD, on sale now at BB for $199. Good deal, and I can add an eSATA drive for more storage. Setup went well, as did activating the Comcast M-Card.

One tiny glitch - I can't seem to access the "download movies" etc. screen. I am trying to get to Netflix and Amazon streaming/VOD services. I get the screen telling me that TiVO is more than a DVR, etc... and says that I need to connect it to my home network in order to receive Amazon, etc.

Well, I am connected. I can receive YouTube, etc., and my network status looks fine. I've let it auto configure, screen comes back saying it has applied new settings. But still no changes on the download screen.

Is this something that might take a day or two to activate, or am I doing something wrong?

You need to activate on the netflix & amazon sides, tying your DVR to their services & your account with them, as well as on the Tivo website/account itself.

From Tivo how-to downloads feature website (http://www.tivo.com/mytivo/howto/downloadmoviesandtv/index.html):

How to watch Netflix on your TiVo DVR (http://www.tivo.com/mytivo/howto/downloadmoviesandtv/howto_movies_dvr_netflix.html)
When you activate your TiVo DVR on your Netflix account*, you can enjoy over 12,000 Netflix movies & TV episodes, streamed from Netflix right to your broadband-connected TiVo® HD, TiVo® HD XL, or TiVo Series3™ DVR!

How to get movies and TV from Amazon Video On Demand™ (http://www.tivo.com/mytivo/howto/downloadmoviesandtv/howto_movies_tv_amazon.html)
When you link your TiVo account to your Amazon 1-Click purchasing account, you’re able to buy or rent videos and have them delivered automatically to your broadband-connected TiVo DVR.

dandrewk

11-28-09, 12:38 PM

You need to activate on the netflix & amazon sides, tying your DVR to their services & your account with them, as well as on the Tivo website/account itself.

From Tivo how-to downloads feature website (http://www.tivo.com/mytivo/howto/downloadmoviesandtv/index.html):

How to watch Netflix on your TiVo DVR (http://www.tivo.com/mytivo/howto/downloadmoviesandtv/howto_movies_dvr_netflix.html)
When you activate your TiVo DVR on your Netflix account*, you can enjoy over 12,000 Netflix movies & TV episodes, streamed from Netflix right to your broadband-connected TiVo® HD, TiVo® HD XL, or TiVo Series3™ DVR!

How to get movies and TV from Amazon Video On Demand™ (http://www.tivo.com/mytivo/howto/downloadmoviesandtv/howto_movies_tv_amazon.html)
When you link your TiVo account to your Amazon 1-Click purchasing account, you’re able to buy or rent videos and have them delivered automatically to your broadband-connected TiVo DVR.

Already had done the setups. The problem is I don't have a "video on demand" option when I go to TiVO central.

From reading other posts, I have to wait until TiVO uploads SW version 11.x. I currently have 9.4.

Is there any way to force a SW upgrade?

wco81

11-28-09, 12:42 PM

How much is the monthly fee on the TivoHD these days?

cgould

11-28-09, 12:43 PM

Already had done the setups. The problem is I don't have a "video on demand" option when I go to TiVO central.

From reading other posts, I have to wait until TiVO uploads SW version 11.x. I currently have 9.4.

Is there any way to force a SW upgrade?

ahh... gotcha. wow, that's surprising for a new box... what's the manufactured date on the back?

Anyways, if you keep connecting to the server (settings, network, connect now etc) it should eventually pick up the upgrade. Might be a day or two.
When a new version is released they roll it out in batches, but this is old, just new to your box :-)

dandrewk

11-28-09, 12:57 PM

ahh... gotcha. wow, that's surprising for a new box... what's the manufactured date on the back?

Anyways, if you keep connecting to the server (settings, network, connect now etc) it should eventually pick up the upgrade. Might be a day or two.
When a new version is released they roll it out in batches, but this is old, just new to your box :-)

9 sept. 2009. Not sure when a newer SW version became available.

Another minor glitch - I can stream images off my Mac to the TiVO, but when i try and play a song off my iTunes, I get errors. It finds the library ok, it just fails after I hit "play". Hopefully that will fix itself with 11.0

dandrewk

11-28-09, 03:47 PM

Did a TiVO connection and it uploaded 11.0. Restarted. "Video on Demand" showed up, but did not list Netflix. All others were there - Amazon, Blockbuster etc., but no Netflix. Forced another connection and voila! Netflix is now streaming from my queue.

Still can't stream music from Mac to TiVO. It finds the songs, but gets an error when trying to play. It's a Mac thing, as TiVO desktop on my Windows laptop streams music fine.

dandrewk

11-28-09, 03:48 PM

How much is the monthly fee on the TivoHD these days?

https://www3.tivo.com/store/plans.do

wco81

11-28-09, 04:03 PM

So you'd have to use it for 4 years for the Lifetime sub to make sense.

Do they last that long or will they get eclipsed technologically in a couple of years? Maybe faster processors for UI, picture processing and/or better storage.

11-28-09, 04:16 PM

So you'd have to use it for 4 years for the Lifetime sub to make sense.

Lifetime sub has resale value, so the breakeven point is much less. I've had various TiVos for the past 9 years, all with lifetime service. Since the lifetime unit can be transferred to another owner, you can have an existing TiVo subscriber buy it for you for $299.

wco81

11-28-09, 04:24 PM

Do they allow the Lifetime sub to be transferred to other units?

Would make people replace their models more frequently.

But they may depend on those subscription revenues more than hardware revenues. And they'd have to be able to innovate to make buying a new Tivo say ever couple of years tempting, like smart phones these days.

Their subscription numbers have been dropping for over 2 years but the one-time windfalls from Dish and others apparently help a lot.

11-28-09, 04:29 PM

Do they allow the Lifetime sub to be transferred to other units?

In general, no. If a unit is replaced through TiVo or extended warranty program (within 3 years?), then yes.

clau

11-29-09, 02:53 PM

cayfordb

11-29-09, 03:28 PM

I had cablecard issues with Tivo, and the 3rd time the Comcast guy came out, he had the central office "give it the three shots". He didn't say what the 3 shots were, but after that it's been fine. So, ask about "the 3 shots"!

CableCard blues

Bought a new TV, so had to reshuffle the existing ones. Moved a Cablecard from a Panasonic plasma to a Pioneer (which previously had no trouble with another cablecard which is being used in a TiVo now). Initially, no problem, and all channels were received find. Then I subscribed to Jade channel a few days ago. This particular cablecard could not receive that channel, while every other one in my house gets that channel fine. Talked to CSR, and they recommended swapping cablecards. So yesterday morning, waited the 20 minutes and got another one. This one gave me error 161-01, and could not be activated. Went back to Comcast office, got another one. This one refused to be activated. Talked to CSR, and went back a third time to get yet another card. After a couple of calls, got that card activated, but can't get any premium channel. The expanded basics come in fine. Look into diagnostics, and it says Enabled by CP: no, and Host Unknown 04. It does say Authorization:Subscribed.

So, I did some googling, and it looks like this is a problem with some TiVo's. Apparently the data ID is not correct in the Comcast database. Called CSR again, for the 5th or 6th time, and asked them if there is anyway to enter the data ID into their system. CSR was clueless about how to do this, although she sounded sympathetic. She arranged a technician house call today between 3-5pm. I am very impressed that they can get me a technician that quickly.

Has anyone have the same problem? Is it really a matter of the data ID not being correct? I got a feeling that the technician may not be able to help, but at least he might have another card to swap. Any hint as to how they can troubleshoot this? Thanks.

Xn0r

11-29-09, 03:46 PM

CableCard blues

Bought a new TV, so had to reshuffle the existing ones. Moved a Cablecard from a Panasonic plasma to a Pioneer (which previously had no trouble with another cablecard which is being used in a TiVo now). Initially, no problem, and all channels were received find. Then I subscribed to Jade channel a few days ago. This particular cablecard could not receive that channel, while every other one in my house gets that channel fine. Talked to CSR, and they recommended swapping cablecards. So yesterday morning, waited the 20 minutes and got another one. This one gave me error 161-01, and could not be activated. Went back to Comcast office, got another one. This one refused to be activated. Talked to CSR, and went back a third time to get yet another card. After a couple of calls, got that card activated, but can't get any premium channel. The expanded basics come in fine. Look into diagnostics, and it says Enabled by CP: no, and Host Unknown 04. It does say Authorization:Subscribed.

So, I did some googling, and it looks like this is a problem with some TiVo's. Apparently the data ID is not correct in the Comcast database. Called CSR again, for the 5th or 6th time, and asked them if there is anyway to enter the data ID into their system. CSR was clueless about how to do this, although she sounded sympathetic. She arranged a technician house call today between 3-5pm. I am very impressed that they can get me a technician that quickly.

Has anyone have the same problem? Is it really a matter of the data ID not being correct? I got a feeling that the technician may not be able to help, but at least he might have another card to swap. Any hint as to how they can troubleshoot this? Thanks.
Here's the way it works: The people you talk to on the phone, CSRs, are typically first tier techs, not much more than people who just answer the phone and follow a script, like cookbook instructions on their screen. They usually have very limited knowledge, and often limited access to the cable system controls/administration. Once in a while you get a more experience CSR, but they're probably just about to be promoted to the next tier anyway, and you're lucky you got them, but, again, often they don't have the access they need to actually fix something complex.

So with Comcast it means if it's not a simple problem, then they essentially do a truck roll. E.g. they send out a tech. Now, I've had techs show up who really know their stuff, and others who are just clueless. But what really matters here is the access over the phone that these guys have to the higher tier Comcast techs. Ones who actually know what they're doing, and have the access to do it.

So essentially, with Comcast, what you have to do is get them the schedule a truck roll so they can use their phones to talk to a higher tier tech at Comcast who can actually do something to fix your problem. Inefficient? Waste of gas/energy for something that should be doable over the phone? Perhaps, especially if you're a person who is capable of reading off the correct host IDs and other numbers to the tech over the phone. But of course that's not always the case, so that's probably why they do a truck roll.

At any rate, that seems to be the Comcast Way.

I had a similar situation to yours. I went down to Milpitas and picked up a new M-Card to use in my new pre-owned Tivo HD. Brought it home, and called Comcast to activate. All the non-encrypted channels were coming through, but the the encrypted ones weren't working. The conditional access screen of the M-card was telling me the card wasn't activated or authorized no matter what the CSR did to the box.

After talking to a supervisor for about 10 minutes, they figured out that the Tivo's host ID was associated with another cable card, the original owner's. I told (and had told when I first called) them I bought it off of that guy who was moving back to Japan and couldn't use his Tivo over there. They said they'd take until tomorrow to de-associate the Tivo HostID with the old cable card, and reassociate the Tivo with my account and the new cablecard. So I called a back the next day, they tried it again, and still the same situation. So of course, they scheduled a truck roll for like two days later. YAY.

Two days later the tech shows up two and a half hours late (past the end of the window, not the start). He spends about 30 minutes on the phone with an higher tier tech, and they can't get it going. So the tech disappears down to his truck and comes back with a new M-Card. They spend about five minutes on the phone, and voila it starts working.

My guess is that cablecard I had was just fine, but due to the association of a different hostid and account in the past in Comcast's database was now useless and probably would be incinerated or something (or maybe just sent to another area where there's a different database/headend). I doubt it was a hardware problem with the cablecard, since it seemed to be functioning fine for non-encrypted chans, all the screens worked, etc. My guess is that for that cablecard to ever work again will require some high-bishop or even cardinal level tech in the Comcast hierarchy to issue some hand crafted SQL commands to their database to fix things. OK maybe not so bad, but you get my drift. :p

Anyway, it took a week to get my stuff working. Count yourself lucky they were able to schedule a truck roll the same day. If you're lucky, they'll be able to sort things out for you. Especially if they brought a few dozen extra un-compromised cablecards with them. ;)

clau

11-29-09, 03:58 PM

Here's the way it works: The people you talk to on the phone, CSRs, are typically first tier techs, not much more than people who just answer the phone and follow a script, like cookbook instructions on their screen. They usually have very limited knowledge, and often limited access to the cable system controls/administration. Once in a while you get a more experience CSR, but they're probably just about to be promoted to the next tier anyway, and you're lucky you got them, but, again, often they don't have the access they need to actually fix something complex.

So with Comcast it means if it's not a simple problem, then they essentially do a truck roll. E.g. they send out a tech. Now, I've had techs show up who really know their stuff, and others who are just clueless. But what really matters here is the access over the phone that these guys have to the higher tier Comcast techs. Ones who actually know what they're doing, and have the access to do it.

So essentially, with Comcast, what you have to do is get them the schedule a truck roll so they can use their phones to talk to a higher tier tech at Comcast who can actually do something to fix your problem. Inefficient? Waste of gas/energy for something that should be doable over the phone? Perhaps, especially if you're a person who is capable of reading off the correct host IDs and other numbers to the tech over the phone. But of course that's not always the case, so that's probably why they do a truck roll.

At any rate, that seems to be the Comcast Way.

I had a similar situation to yours. I went down to Milpitas and picked up a new M-Card to use in my new pre-owned Tivo HD. Brought it home, and called Comcast to activate. All the non-encrypted channels were coming through, but the the encrypted ones weren't working. The conditional access screen of the M-card was telling me the card wasn't activated or authorized no matter what the CSR did to the box.

After talking to a supervisor for about 10 minutes, they figured out that the Tivo's host ID was associated with another cable card, the original owner's. I told (and had told when I first called) them I bought it off of that guy who was moving back to Japan and couldn't use his Tivo over there. They said they'd take until tomorrow to de-associate the Tivo HostID with the old cable card, and reassociate the Tivo with my account and the new cablecard. So I called a back the next day, they tried it again, and still the same situation. So of course, they scheduled a truck roll for like two days later. YAY.

Two days later the tech shows up two and a half hours late (past the end of the window, not the start). He spends about 30 minutes on the phone with an higher tier tech, and they can't get it going. So the tech disappears down to his truck and comes back with a new M-Card. They spend about five minutes on the phone, and voila it starts working.

My guess is that cablecard I had was just fine, but due to the association of a different hostid and account in the past in Comcast's database was now useless and probably would be incinerated or something (or maybe just sent to another area where there's a different database/headend). I doubt it was a hardware problem with the cablecard, since it seemed to be functioning fine for non-encrypted chans, all the screens worked, etc. My guess is that for that cablecard to ever work again will require some high-bishop or even cardinal level tech in the Comcast hierarchy to issue some hand crafted SQL commands to their database to fix things. OK maybe not so bad, but you get my drift. :p

Anyway, it took a week to get my stuff working. Count yourself lucky they were able to schedule a truck roll the same day. If you're lucky, they'll be able to sort things out for you. Especially if they brought a few dozen extra un-compromised cablecards with them. ;)

The thing that bugs me is that this has got to be a common problem, and someone easily accessible to the first-tier CSR's should have the process down pat, on how to make the host ID/DATA ID pairing work correctly. Instead they just repeatedly sent the same hits over and ask the customer to wait 45 mintues or more to see if it fixes the problem. In my experience, it only takes a couple of minutes to know if the problem is fixed. Then there was that clueless CSR who kept saying that I had to rescan the channels on my TV to get the missing channels...