I figured I'd jump in and start a thread since I didn't see anything. It looks like Comcast is getting ready to roll out HDTV in the area. I called and all they could do is put me on a notification list... no channel list or pricing yet. Anyone have further info?
I'm curious as to how quick this will go down because I just purchased an OTA receiver. If I can get most of the programming with Comcast and don't need the antenna and extra STB I may take it back.
For those of you from other regions, how quick did Comcast roll out HDTV after the "coming soon" advertising appeared?
I am a comcast employee in the saint paul office and as such I am currently a beta tester for the HD service that we will be releaseing late Augest early september and as far as extra cost the most basic digital package will have some HD and that ranges from 59.98 a month its called Digital Plus and as far as more HD you would have to move up in price since HBO and Showtime have a HD channel you would have to move to Digital Gold which is currently 74.99 a month. you will get a Motorola DCT 5100 box which is grey and very cool looking and the channels that are currently on there as of beta stage is KARE (NBC),KMSP (FOX),HBO (East),Showtime (East). I belieave there is more channels to be lanched such as ESPN HD but I have had not been told that information as of yet. I just emailed the manager of the HD tv beta test asking if he knows the exact launch channels that will be released for customers and will update with that information when it become avaliable I hope this helped.
Thanks for the info! Any word on the other locals (CBS, ABC, PAX, PBS, UPN)? I don't mean to press... I'm just excited I may just have to take my Samsung 151 back to the store and try to hold out for the next month or two. I look forward to hearing more!
If you are brave enough and haven't already done so, you may want to pass this information along to the operator of hdtvtwincities.com and perhaps post on http://www.ktca.org/innertube/inside/bbs/ where someone has asked about Comcast HDTV.
Good to see good feedback always happy to help there is no released info on updated channels I will be getting more info very shortly as far as local channels I like going OTA since there is no compression its the best possible picture that being if your close to an antenna of course
I emailed the operator of HDTVTwincities.com with this info hopefully my company dont care =) they want most this stuff kept internal and said not to discuss it with the press but I dont consider this the press =)
God, I sure hope he wasn't fired. I would think leaking info to a crowd like us would be good. Otherwise, how many of us (impatient as we are) would go get a D* or E* setup.... or OTA only.
It's not like he's giving away trade secrets or more than could be inferred by making 2-3 calls to customer support and putting the info together. It's just nice to hear it from yet another source.
I'm now in the wait-and-see mode. My Samsung 151 works great, PBS is awesome, and the primetime shows are fun to watch. Also, we get HD-Net OTA soon. I can't believe how bad the analog feed off comcast truly is...
I'll be sitting tight at least for the next year while D* tries to figure out how to get more Bandwidth, E* gets their superdish and new receivers out, and Comcast gets a decent suite of HD channels. I'll go with the winner.
I am one of the Comcast "Beta Testers". According to my installer, there are about 50-100 such testers in the Minneapolis area. I was asked to sign a statement that I would not tell folks about this, especially the media. I believe that they are still evaluating prices, channels, desire for the service and trouble processes. Currently, they are offering channels 9 and 11, ESPN-HD and HBO/SHOW HD. (The latter assumes it is in your digital package). They will charge $5 a month for the box. Other channels are being considered/negotiated.
Box can output 480p, 720p, 1180i and defaults to 480i for non-HD broadcasts. Passes audio directly through, for use in stereo/surround system. Connects to component inputs.
Service introduction dates have not been defined or announced.
The trial and rollout was announced on HDTV Minneapolis website (hdtvtwincities.com)
Picture quality is what we would expect, with minimal access to HD material. Matches quality of my OTA access. Makes the Sopranos in HD look outstanding, and I'm excited about ESPN possibilities.
It's difficult to find Comcast personnel who are familiar with the trial or coming service, but I believe they are shooting for a September/October roll out. I would suspect that availability of boxes may be an issue.
Drool... Sounds like it's actually going to happen soon. Thanks for the info. Now if I could just get a TiVo that records HD cable I'd be a happy man...
In the paper today the announced that HDTV is available. If you get somebody that says it is not available, call back. I first got a sales person that said it was an ealy announcement. I called back after reading more and have an appointment for Monday Sept 8.
I just got off the phone with Comcast. I placed my HD order, but they seemed very confused as to how to even process it. They told me I was the first one to request this! (?) Install scheduled for next week!
I called around noon and got a very knowledgable CSR that knew it was the first day it is being offered in the Twin Cities. I scheduled my install for next Wednesday after work. I confirmed with her multiple times that the install would include the correct HD cable box etc and that HDTV would work in my area. She seemed very confident all would go well with the install etc.
I can't wait to dump Dishnetwork next week. I also signed up for internet from comcast at a $23 a month rate for 6 months. Bye bye Qwest DSL!
THe sales person did ask if I had an open HDTV component input, so I hope they have proper cables. I bet they will be cheaper that will need to be replaced by better cables. If you have a reciever I believe they do not give audio cables to the reciever.
I plan to swap the new box with my Sami T151 - although I guess I will need it for ABC,CBS, and PBS until they carry those. I noticed the 151 are starting to drop on Ebay so I hope they add all the locals soon - so I can sell the Sami and recover some cash.
I only have two components inputs on my TV so I will need to figure something out...maybe a switch box. I have DVD, PS2, T151, new cable box.
I'm in the same boat as far as TV component inputs. My Hitachi has 2 inputs, but now I'll have DVD, Xbox and Cable Box signals. I just bought one of these yesterday:
It's spendy, but should do exactly what I want, including switching digital audio.
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