Philadelphia, PA - Comcast

[QZ1]

Originally posted by RichFPAN
QZ1 - I'm in Center City Philly and have been having the exact same problems for 7 weeks. I've called Comcast about every week and they keep telling me that they're working on the problem. It doesn't seem that this is as widespread in this area as it is in DE, which I guess means they're not going to fix us quickly.

Not what I was hoping to hear; although it took Delaware a while for it to get fixed, and still someone just mentioned that they still have Tuner 2 problems.

Oh.. also, I've been having trouble on ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS... (not Fox like you). And I also have occasional pixelization and audio droupouts on the first tuner on these channels as well, but not nearly the amount on the unwatchable second tuner.

I remembered it incorrectly; it is indeed ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS here, also. So, this appears to be a regional problem.

Does anyone have any more information about when this problem will be resolved? As I've said, it's been over a month and a half and still going.

JWhip are you out there? Maybe he could get some action on this.

Did you try getting the DVR replaced?
Sometimes, that is all it is. Although, when others have the exact same problems, it almost surely is a system problem.

I am waiting, as I don't want to have the DVR replaced, unless it is surely faulty, because one loses all recordings and season passes.

[baeverly]

Originally posted by WizarDru
drpepper, I have Comcast in Chester County, in the Malvern-Great Valley area. I have a Pioneer Elite 920 Plasma TV, with a built-in QAM tuner and cable-card slot. I do NOT have a cable card, and receive most of the HD channels over the 'A' Tuner (which has the QAM).

You DO NOT need the digital service, nor do you need the HD service...unless you want things like the cable box for on-demand, pay-per-view, comcast's guide and their (IMHO poor) DVR. You also do not get certain channels, such as Discovery HD or Starz! HD without the digital/HDTV service. It just didn't seem that it was worth an additional $30/month to me (especially as I own two tivos). All you need is to hook the cable up to your QAM tuner, and do a scan. On my TV, it took nearly 15 minutes to complete.

I get all of the music channels (not that I wanted them) ABC, CBS, NBC, WB, Fox and PBS-HD. I also get INHD1/INHD2 and G4 (which prior to 3/1 was HD, as well, but now is not).

I was getting INHD1 and 2 and they disappeared. They were at 100.01 and 100.02. Are you still getting them WizardDru? Were are they now if you are? I rescanned and can't find them anywhere!

[Carl Jones]

[quote]Originally posted by QZ1
[b]Not what I was hoping to hear; although it took Delaware a while for it to get fixed, and still someone just mentioned that they still have Tuner 2 problems.

Problem STILL exists in Delaware.

[drpepper]

baeverly
Are you getting any digital over Qam? I tried a channel scan again from the coax comcast cable in, normal analog & what appeared to be comcast digital channels in the 88-110 or so range but no picture. I did a "digital only" scan & it took like 30 minutes but again same result, locks in on the channels (decimal subs) but no picture. I have to go into the digital guide section to "hide" them to get them out of the channel line up. With the analog you just go into add/delete.

Again, when I call Comcast the csr tries to sell digital cable & acts ( is) dumb not sure which.
As stated I'm in Delaware county.
PS Here is info from my xbr sony..."HDTV Reception. Receives free, over-the-air digital broadcasts, where available. Receives Clear QAM unscrambled digital cable channels"

[RichFPAN]

Originally posted by QZ1
Did you try getting the DVR replaced?
Sometimes, that is all it is. Although, when others have the exact same problems, it almost surely is a system problem.

I am waiting, as I don't want to have the DVR replaced, unless it is surely faulty, because one loses all recordings and season passes.

I have two 6412s that do the same thing. Both have been replaced and the problem remains. I think it is a system problem.

[baeverly]

Originally posted by drpepper
baeverly
Are you getting any digital over Qam? I tried a channel scan again from the coax comcast cable in, normal analog & what appeared to be comcast digital channels in the 88-110 or so range but no picture. I did a "digital only" scan & it took like 30 minutes but again same result, locks in on the channels (decimal subs) but no picture. I have to go into the digital guide section to "hide" them to get them out of the channel line up. With the analog you just go into add/delete.

Again, when I call Comcast the csr tries to sell digital cable & acts ( is) dumb not sure which.
As stated I'm in Delaware county.
PS Here is info from my xbr sony..."HDTV Reception. Receives free, over-the-air digital broadcasts, where available. Receives Clear QAM unscrambled digital cable channels"

Yes I get all the networks via digital over QAM. Some PPV and I was getting the two INHD but they are gone lately.......I have a MITS with Integrated HD QAM Tuner no cable card as it 3 years old.

[WizarDru]

Originally posted by baeverly
I was getting INHD1 and 2 and they disappeared. They were at 100.01 and 100.02. Are you still getting them WizardDru? Were are they now if you are? I rescanned and can't find them anywhere!

I was as of last night, at least. I didn't check before leaving this morning for work. They relocated, as of the last update, to 101.1 and 102.1, I think. I'll check when I get home tonight, to verify.

Prior to the last update, all of my HD channels were organized around channels 79-85, with all of the major affiliates together, followed by all the Music Choice channels, and the INHD1/2 (with lots of OnDemand channels and other stuff following). After the update, INHD1/2 moved upwards, all the major affiliates moved to the 114-116 range, and G4 moved down to 88.11 (iirc). The Music Choice channels are all over the board...but I listen to XM, not my TV.

[drpepper]

Again, I call Comcast (810am 4/15/05)..again I get csr that just tries to "sell" their service & reads off cue cards....

Comcast states that in order to view their digital channels ( sd or hd) you need to subscribe to their digital service. The newer tvs may have the ability to view but only after you pay for the "extra" service.

IS THIS TRUE??? Are there people that can view the digitals (sd or hd) that don't have the digital service? Is this is true, is this like a "bonus" where it tech. is not supossed to happen?

I don't want to pick a fight with comcast to View the digitals that my tv is scanning in but unviewable if what they are saying is REALLY true since I DON"T subscribe to digital cable.
BUT if I should be able to receive & view some I would like it fixed & viewable.
Anybody? Is this maybe a local thing? Malvern sees them but media doesn't but havertown does, etc?
Anyone? Thanks

[quartrj]

Originally posted by RichFPAN
QZ1 - I'm in Center City Philly and have been having the exact same problems for 7 weeks. I've called Comcast about every week and they keep telling me that they're working on the problem. It doesn't seem that this is as widespread in this area as it is in DE, which I guess means they're not going to fix us quickly.

Oh.. also, I've been having trouble on ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS... (not Fox like you). And I also have occasional pixelization and audio droupouts on the first tuner on these channels as well, but not nearly the amount on the unwatchable second tuner.

Does anyone have any more information about when this problem will be resolved? As I've said, it's been over a month and a half and still going.

I'm a 6412 user in Delaware. What I can tell you about the 2nd tuner problem is that it is systemic. The 6412 worked flawlessly on both tuners until COMCAST switched our HD QAMs for ABC, NBC,CBS, and PBS to make room for digital simucast of analog chanels.

Individuals that are not reporting the problem don't know they have a problem. I told to two friends who thought they were ok how to do a simple test. They called me and said "Man how did I miss that"

(Simple test: Start with 6412 off (needs to be off so we can be sure that we start with 1st tuner) tune to CBS HD, picture should be ok, hit the swap button to switch to 2nd tuner, tune to CBS HD again. If your problem is as bad as it is in Delaware you should hear an audio drop out followed by video pixelization/tiling within a few minutes.)

Note on test for us in Delaware CBS HD is the worst you may need to find out what channel will work best for your area.

Switching out 6412 box does not help. Having a COMCAST Lead technician come out to your house does not help. Having all connections cut off and new connectors attached does not help. Replacing all cable outside and inside your home does not help. Replacing all splitters does not help. All of this work was done at my home over the course of several visits from COMCAST and the problem still persists.

The last COMCAST tech that came to my house told me that they now think it is a problem with the 6412 and my service ticket was going to be put in a pile until they have enough to convince Motorola that it is a problem they need to address. This doesn't sound to promising.

I really want this to work when it does it works great. The only thing that is keeping me calm is that COMCAST has been crediting my account every month when I call.

[stoli412]

I also have the tuner 2 pixelation problem here in center city. I'm wondering if it has something to do the 6412's hardware myself. Here are my thoughts as to possible causes:

1. The signal is not being spilt evenly to both tuners, so tuner 2 is not getting enough signal and that causes the dropouts.
2. There is some kind of slight systemwide interference at the frequencies where the problem channels sit. Slight interference combined with uneven signal splitting could be just enough to cause problems on tuner 2 but not tuner 1. I don't know how often channels move around, but this seemed to start when DS started.
3. There is a hardware or firmware problem when buffering high-bitrate channels from tuner 2, so the signal is fine but is getting messed up in the buffer. However the error counts for tuner 2 on the diagnostics page seem to rule this out.

Of course this is all speculation on my part, but since my local office refuses to even acknowledge there is a problem, I can only make assumptions as to the cause. I just hope they fix it soon. It sucks to have to be home to make sure something records on tuner 1 on the affected channels.

[zmatzkin]

Originally posted by drpepper
IS THIS TRUE??? Are there people that can view the digitals (sd or hd) that don't have the digital service? Is this is true, is this like a "bonus" where it tech. is not supossed to happen?

I only have analog service and I get all the HD locals and INHD 1 and 2 in the clear... And some other stuff... I am in southern Chester county... I have never talked to comcast about it. I almost always use my OTA reception anyway... I am using an Elgato EyeTV 500...Hope this helps...

[quartrj]

Originally posted by stoli412
I also have the tuner 2 pixelation problem here in center city. I'm wondering if it has something to do the 6412's hardware myself. Here are my thoughts as to possible causes:

1. The signal is not being spilt evenly to both tuners, so tuner 2 is not getting enough signal and that causes the dropouts....

This is correct if you look at the diagnostic screen you will see that the 2nd tuner typically gets between 2-3db less than the 1st tuner.

[QZ1]

Originally posted by stoli412
I also have the tuner 2 pixelation problem here in center city. I'm wondering if it has something to do the 6412's hardware myself. Here are my thoughts as to possible causes:

1. The signal is not being spilt evenly to both tuners, so tuner 2 is not getting enough signal and that causes the dropouts.

But I am getting 'Good' SNR and AGC on Tuner 2. I let it set on the Diagnostic Screen and I saw the errors, yet those number didn't change out of Good range.

2. There is some kind of slight systemwide interference at the frequencies where the problem channels sit. Slight interference combined with uneven signal splitting could be just enough to cause problems on tuner 2 but not tuner 1. I don't know how often channels move around, but this seemed to start when DS started.

You seem to be saying a lower SNR is getting interference and therefore the signal is being degraded. But again, why are the SNR and AGC fine?

3. There is a hardware or firmware problem when buffering high-bitrate channels from tuner 2, so the signal is fine but is getting messed up in the buffer. However the error counts for tuner 2 on the diagnostics page seem to rule this out.

A few days ago, I was getting Uncorrectable errors on Tuner 2, the next day I wasn't though. I think you may be on to something, I think it is the buffering.

Of course this is all speculation on my part, but since my local office refuses to even acknowledge there is a problem, I can only make assumptions as to the cause. I just hope they fix it soon.

[QZ1]

Originally posted by quartrj
I'm a 6412 user in Delaware. What I can tell you about the 2nd tuner problem is that it is systemic. The 6412 worked flawlessly on both tuners until COMCAST switched our HD QAMs for ABC, NBC,CBS, and PBS to make room for digital simucast of analog chanels.

But here on the Willow Grove system, they started the Digital simulcast a while ago, I think two months ago, yet the problem here just started three days ago. Herr, maybe they are Digitizing more channels now, than just Locals. (IOW, Delaware was ahead on the Digital Simulcast.)

By switching HD QAMs, do you mean that they changed the frequencies around?

[quartrj]

Originally posted by QZ1
...By switching HD QAMs, do you mean that they changed the frequencies around?

Yes

[QZ1]

Originally posted by quartrj
This is correct if you look at the diagnostic screen you will see that the 2nd tuner typically gets between 2-3db less than the 1st tuner.

Here, I always set the DVR to the same channel for both tuners, and I see anywhere from 1-3db difference; this is not enough to support the idea that after the first split, it is being split again for the internal modem.

I think the second tuner is just noisier. As I stated, I had Tuner 2 for a long time with a Fair SNR and Good AGC and it was fine.

Recently, they both became Good and soon after the problem occurs. This is definately looking like a systemic problem, what exactly it is, we don't know for sure.

[quartrj]

Originally posted by stoli412
I also have the tuner 2 pixelation problem here in center city. I'm wondering if it has something to do the 6412's hardware myself. Here are my thoughts as to possible causes:

1. The signal is not being spilt evenly to both tuners, so tuner 2 is not getting enough signal and that causes the dropouts....

Originally posted by quartrj
This is correct if you look at the diagnostic screen you will see that the 2nd tuner typically gets between 2-3db less than the 1st tuner.

Sorry I only meant that the signal was not being evenly sent to both tuners.

I like everyone else do not know what is causing the dropouts

[QZ1]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by QZ1
...By switching HD QAMs, do you mean that they changed the frequencies around?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by quartrj
Yes

Ok, so I notice that these problem channels are all over 750MHz, I gather that they probably never used those freq. before. I see that ABC, NBC, and CBS are all in a row and poor, but then FOX and WB are fine, then PBS is poor. Does anyone know if FOX and WB are +750MHz?

I still wonder why it is just Tuner 2 though. As much as we discuss this, though, it is still up to them to fix it.

[quartrj]

Originally posted by QZ1
...I still wonder why it is just Tuner 2 though. As much as we discuss this, though, it is still up to them to fix it.

I have not been told as much but I'm sure COMCAST's position is that if the signal is good on tuner 1 but not tuner 2 then it must be a problem with the 6412 and therefore a Motorola problem.

[QZ1]

Originally posted by quartrj
I have not been told as much but I'm sure COMCAST's position is that if the signal is good on tuner 1 but not tuner 2 then it must be a problem with the 6412 and therefore a Motorola problem.

Yes, if the SNR and AGC are Good on Tuner 2, as is the case with this, you are probably right. It is probably a hardware or firmware issue. Maybe there was a bad batch of DVRs (or all of them), which have Tuner 2s which can't process certain QAM frequencies correctly. I wonder if this can even be corrected with firmware.

I wish we could buy a CableCard Dual-tuner DVR. Tivo is simply going to offer their platform for use on the 6412 and whatever else is offered by Comcast. And there are no ETAs for any other CC Dual-tuner DVRs yet.

[quartrj]

Added Update to Delaware Thread regarding 2nd Tuner Issue

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...29#post5485429

[dalegen]

hi, im from the central jersey, just want to know what the local channel number is for csn philadelphia, just hoping to catch the sixers/pacers game tonight. thanks

[RichFPAN]

Originally posted by quartrj
The only thing that is keeping me calm is that COMCAST has been crediting my account every month when I call.

How much have they been crediting your account? I asked for a credit before but they only credited me for wasting my time by sending 5 different service calls without fixing the problem even though they knew the problem was not with my wiring.

[JWhip]

Guys, it does not look good for the addition of TNT-HD and UPN at this time. I have been told not to expect them by 4/24 as their is NO bandwidth to put them in this region. All of the equipment is in place to add them though. The good news is that once they are added, it looks like a third will be added as well. THis may not be until June however. Hopefully, that will not come to pass but the bandwidth issue seems to be a real problem. BTW, the third is NOT HD Net or Universal HD. That leaves one other. The digital simulcast seems to be the culprit to me.

[neeshu89]

this is total bull, they can add channels like the jewelery channel and other crap channels, but can't add even one HD channel (TNTHD preferrably). They continue to put channels that nobody watches at full bandwidth instead of down converting them to make room for HD.....CRAP...thats all it is

[jsb_hburg]

We still have analog premiums in Harrisburg. To make room for three HD channels, my guess is that analog premiums would have to go. Hopefully, the third HD channel is ESPN2. I would like to see Universal added.

[shades]

Is anyone getting TNT by end of april?

[JWhip]

It does not look like it in the Philly area. Some systems around the country will though, as early as 4/24. I have suggested that they dump the all digital simulcast until they are ready to dump analog altogether as this is what is eating up the bandwidth. THey are also trying to dump certain analog channels but are running into contractual issues. Hopefully, a solution will be found before June.

[shades]

How about eliminating the 5-10 Digital PPVs, anyone with digital cable has ondemand which has all the same movies , that would free up enough bandwidth for 3 HD channels easily

[jeepmatt]

We have no more bandwidth? Are you kidding me? We already have less digital channels than all of the Ex-ATT areas and we can't even add 1 HD channel?

That is disappointing news to say the least. Unacceptable.

I have no idea what they can possibly do to add more.