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Will COMCAST re-map channels back after digital transition?

post #1 of 11
8/29/09 at 6:10am
Thread Starter 
We are in the midst of the COMCAST digital transition right now.

I have one TV that has a built-in digital QAM tuner. It was actually refreshing to have one TV that required no set-top boxes to get all of the channels.

Since the transition has started, many of the channels have been re-mapped to some strange locations as picked up by the QAM tuner. Channels 68-1,2,3,4,5,6,7..., for example. The "old" channel locations are currently set up to display a message about the requirement for a digital device. I'm actually fairly certain that most, if not all, of the channels I was receiving can be picked up still on the TV.

Does anyone know if the new digital channels will re-map back to their old analog locations at some point in the future? It would be great not to need a DTA on this TV if I can help it. In particular because it's located in an area (kitchen) where a DTA would be downright unsightly.

Thanks!
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post #2 of 11
8/29/09 at 7:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mooch91 View Post

I have one TV that has a built-in digital QAM tuner. It was actually refreshing to have one TV that required no set-top boxes to get all of the channels.

Since the transition has started, many of the channels have been re-mapped to some strange locations as picked up by the QAM tuner. Channels 68-1,2,3,4,5,6,7..., for example.

If you're using just the TV's QAM tuner, those channels aren't "mapped" by Comcast. They're where the channels actually reside on the QAM spectrum. Mapping occurs within the cable boxes according to however Comcast wants to arrange them.

Comcast may shuffle the clear QAM channels around from time to time, but there will be no rhyme or reason as to where they end up (cable boxes, on the other hand, get updated to the new QAM channel locations automatically and remap them to channels familiar to the consumer without the consumer even knowing it got moved.)

That's the big downside to using a QAM tuner. You kind of have to note where your channels are. Don't expect Comcast to be a big help here, either.
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post #3 of 11
8/29/09 at 9:22am
They were starting to map them to their proper # in some markets but it doesn't matter now since Comcast can and likely will encrypt them.
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post #4 of 11
8/29/09 at 10:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mooch91 View Post


Does anyone know if the new digital channels will re-map back to their old analog locations at some point in the future? It would be great not to need a DTA on this TV if I can help it. In particular because it's located in an area (kitchen) where a DTA would be downright unsightly.

Thanks!

EXTREMELY unlikely. One of the main things about going digital is to use the old channel space for something more efficient. They can put 10 SD digital channels or 2 HD channels in the space required for one analog channel.
'Fraid you're going to be stuck with 68-1, 2, 3, 4, etc. for a looooong time.
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post #5 of 11
8/31/09 at 10:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by CRT Dude View Post

They were starting to map them to their proper # in some markets but it doesn't matter now since Comcast can and likely will encrypt them.

Exactly, it'll be a moot point very soon. Ken H, says it is definite that they will use the waiver. Of course, it doesn't take a genius to know, that if an MSO asks for a waiver, and it is granted, they will use the waiver.

Note, the Ltd. Basic HD and SD channels will still be in the clear, and should eventually be mapped correctly. Here, all have been mapped at times, but usually it is is just some of them; I hope this indeed changes.
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post #6 of 11
8/31/09 at 10:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tulpa View Post

That's the big downside to using a QAM tuner. You kind of have to note where your channels are. Don't expect Comcast to be a big help here, either.

Not mentioned often enough, there is more to it, here and in many areas, Comcast often moves channels around, so it requires a re-scan and renoting of the channels. For the short times Expd. Basic SD has been in the clear (beginning of ADS and beginning of DTA use), a QAM tuner would have been too time consuming to use, IMO, but others have found it worthwhile. I have only needed it for Ltd. Basic HD, for just a few channels, and have found it annoying, but I am grateful to have it, regardless.
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post #7 of 11
8/31/09 at 8:32pm
Comcast can do what ever they please.

FCC waiver's.

Periodic channel reassignments.

Charging monthly fee's for "free boxes."

Here the absolute lowest priced "package" for Basic Cable is $59.99 a month!
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post #8 of 11
9/5/09 at 6:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by QZ1 View Post


Note, the Ltd. Basic HD and SD channels will still be in the clear, and should eventually be mapped correctly. Here, all have been mapped at times, but usually it is is just some of them; I hope this indeed changes.

When you say Ltd Basic, do you mean the cheapest service that Comcast offers without the need for a box?
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post #9 of 11
9/7/09 at 6:49pm
Yes. Also, it is the only service available without a box in some areas, and soon it will be so in all Comcast areas; I believe by the end of '10.

Here, they actually have been calling it 'Basic' for a while, and then if one adds 'Expd. Basic', one would get 'Standard'; but now the latter is gone, so it defaults to 'Digital Starter'.
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post #10 of 11
9/9/09 at 6:10am
If one has Ltd. Basic without a box, will they get the HD stations of the broadcast stations that are broadcasting in HD?
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post #11 of 11
9/10/09 at 1:45pm
Yes, if one has a QAM tuner TV; however, if using a DTA, with the default connections, one wouldn't, because the DTA also uses the TV's RF input. Though, there is a workaround, using an A-B switch (remote-controlled, optional) instead of a splitter.
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