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Atlanta, GA - Comcast - Page 102

post #3031 of 5355
5/1/08 at 10:57am
My Science HD channel is now "not authorized" -- but just as I expected. I'm on Digital Starter, so it's like National Geo HD channel -- not available unless I have the next level up, Digital Basic. Oh well. It's not worth it to me to pay $15 more for just 2 more HD channels.

I was viewing it for a few days in the guide but about the time TLC HD appeared, then Science went unauthorized. Guess Comcast was tidying up the details. That's OK, I was half-expecting it, except Comcast is so inconsistent in other things (like where they place the HD channels in the guide) you can never really tell what they are going to do.
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post #3032 of 5355
5/2/08 at 9:08am
Is there anywhere someone can find what channels come with what package. I believe I have the Digital Basic, but I get the ONE MOMENT PLEASE on several channels that I know are included.
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post #3033 of 5355
5/2/08 at 11:27am
run down to your Comcast office, they have the latest list. Here is one from a few months ago which I think is fairly good. Doesn't have Science Channel which is with NatGeo on DB.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=2779
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post #3034 of 5355
5/3/08 at 6:35am
Did anyone (former Adelphia) who gets PeachtreeeTV HD on channel 241 have problems with the Braves game last night? Mine kept breaking up and the sound was off more than it was on. I ended up watching it in SD.

All other HD channels were okay.
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post #3035 of 5355
5/3/08 at 6:38am
Fox Business News was available in-the-clear QAM. Has it been moved somewhere else, or is it now encrypted?
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post #3036 of 5355
5/3/08 at 5:56pm
Does anyone know when WPBA (channel 30) will be added to HD on Comcast? They're actually starting to show a decent amount of HD OTA now.
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post #3037 of 5355
5/4/08 at 7:04pm
Does anyone
get actual PSIP data on Comcast? I'm trying to decide if my anger should be directed towards TiVo or Comcast. My ATSC/QAM tuner reports no ratings or channel/program data over cable on digital channels. OTA these items are present on the same program at the same time.

Before 01JAN2008 the major networks were properly PSIP mapped (2.1,5.1, 11.1 and 46.1) but lately it has been a 'shell game' or 'hide and seek' proposition to locate where the latest Comcast whim of the moment has placed channels.

Cable providers are required by FCC mandate to pass PSIP, Closed Caption, Nielsen Data and Rating Information. Based on my recent testing, only Closed Captioning information seems to be passed down the line by Comcast.

I'm in the Gwinnett Mall area on the Stone Mountain headend...
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post #3038 of 5355
5/4/08 at 11:13pm
Well, I'm now getting all the channels I'm supposed to get.

SCI, TLC, AMC, DIS, FAM all in HD and working properly.

I guess my only complaint, and some of you have pointed at this, is that most of the content on these "new" channels isn't great. I really don't understand the deal with SCI and TLC's use of almost-full-screen. Animal Planet does this too and it drives me nuts.

At least everything works. Now if they could just scale the content a little better...
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post #3039 of 5355
5/5/08 at 6:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by danalmasy View Post

I guess my only complaint, and some of you have pointed at this, is that most of the content on these "new" channels isn't great. I really don't understand the deal with SCI and TLC's use of almost-full-screen. Animal Planet does this too and it drives me nuts.

Yeah, it took me a little while to get used to it, but I actually like it better than just using pillars and 4:3. It's not stretch-o-vision, since they keep the aspect ratio correct, but they zoom in slightly to fill more of the screen without chopping too much off the top and bottom.
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post #3040 of 5355
5/7/08 at 9:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by McDonoughDawg View Post

One of two things is going on now.. Either I'm becoming jaded to the quality of HD, or some of the channels really are not as clear as they used to be. USA HD last night showing NCIS was especially noticeable. I've seen it on the channels more recently added than the "long timers" we have.

Anyone else noticing this?

I know there is a national discussion on the HDTV programming board, but I don't I've noticed it here in Atlanta until now.

I noticed it over 3 months ago, when Comcast Atlanta added new channels. Pixelation, loss of sound and just an overall crappy looking picture compared to what we had before. The picture looks dull and doesn't have the "pop" that it used to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT30UW80N0I
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post #3041 of 5355
5/8/08 at 5:16pm
I just got comcast cable about 2 weeks ago and had ABC on 98-3 for a couple days, but then it just disappeared.

Is there a QAM channel list I can get anywhere?
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post #3042 of 5355
5/8/08 at 7:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bmr4life View Post

I just got comcast cable about 2 weeks ago and had ABC on 98-3 for a couple days, but then it just disappeared.

Is there a QAM channel list I can get anywhere?

http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdhomerun/channels
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post #3043 of 5355
5/9/08 at 8:21am
I have a stupid question. Generally I consider myself pretty well-versed in the HD and HT world. But this one has me stumped. Why do "good" network TV shows in Comcast HD have such variance in quality? I don't mean why do stretched shows on TBS HD look bad compared to other HD shows, I understand that of course. What I mean is stuff like this - yesterday I was flipping through the channels and saw Ugly Betty was on. Not a show I regularly watch, but the image quality was so good I was floored. It just jumped off the screen and really popped. I found myself watching it just because the quality was so good. No noise or artifacts, the picture was crystal clear. Later I watched (one of my favorites) Lost on the same channel. While it looked good, it didn't look nearly as good. Some noise, faces were not as crisp or clear, etc. Is this due to different camera types or directing styles? Are they purposely going for a photorealistic look for a show like Ugly Betty and a more busy and choppy look for Lost? Another example is American Idol and Hells Kitchen on Fox. American Idol is like Ugly Betty, it is fantastic video quality. Hells Kitchen then comes on and the drop in quality and clarity is strikingly apparent. Yet another would be The Office vs. Law and Order. The Office always looks good in HD (but not great like UB and AI) and Law and Order always looks atrocious in HD. Any thoughts on this? Am I just mad?

Thanks!
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post #3044 of 5355
5/9/08 at 8:42am
The answer is, as you said, director style. Comedies like Ugly Betty and the Office normally have a crisper vibrant happy feel where as drama's like Lost and Law and Order normally go for a darker, more muddier tone. Everyone has different opinions on if this is effective but I personally wouldn't feel the same effect if in the middle of a law and order dramatic moment if I was caught up in the vibrant clarity and colors bouncing out of the screen.

Now some of this is dependent on network channel and the feed they get as well, but in your comment you mentioned comparing shows on the same channel so I know that's not what you were getting at.

-Chris
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post #3045 of 5355
5/9/08 at 1:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JudgeSmails View Post

I have a stupid question. Generally I consider myself pretty well-versed in the HD and HT world. But this one has me stumped. Why do "good" network TV shows in Comcast HD have such variance in quality? I don't mean why do stretched shows on TBS HD look bad compared to other HD shows, I understand that of course. What I mean is stuff like this - yesterday I was flipping through the channels and saw Ugly Betty was on. Not a show I regularly watch, but the image quality was so good I was floored. It just jumped off the screen and really popped. I found myself watching it just because the quality was so good. No noise or artifacts, the picture was crystal clear. Later I watched (one of my favorites) Lost on the same channel. While it looked good, it didn't look nearly as good. Some noise, faces were not as crisp or clear, etc. Is this due to different camera types or directing styles? Are they purposely going for a photorealistic look for a show like Ugly Betty and a more busy and choppy look for Lost? Another example is American Idol and Hells Kitchen on Fox. American Idol is like Ugly Betty, it is fantastic video quality. Hells Kitchen then comes on and the drop in quality and clarity is strikingly apparent. Yet another would be The Office vs. Law and Order. The Office always looks good in HD (but not great like UB and AI) and Law and Order always looks atrocious in HD. Any thoughts on this? Am I just mad?

Thanks!

It's also production values and cost. These shows are not owned by the network, they are distributed by the network but are owned by different production companies. (Well, Fox may own American Idol, I'm not sure). Anyway, there's no one standard they have to follow for HD. There is a more established standard for SD: "network quality" is a great SD show. For HD, you can upconvert and it's still "HD". Some of these production companies may not want to invest in all the equipment necessary to make a pristine HD image.

I know at the network I work at we had to invest much money, much time in equipment and training people for HD. We broadcast in HD -- and we have native HD shows and we have upconversion HD shows. As time passes we will have more native HD shows. You can't just snap your fingers and make all cameras, all edit bays, all field units suddenly HD. EVERYTHING has to be replaced, all technical people have to be re-trained.
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post #3046 of 5355
5/9/08 at 2:01pm
Ah, thanks all for the explanations. Makes total sense.
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post #3047 of 5355
5/9/08 at 6:28pm
Did anyone else see the promo during Friday night's Braves game on Sportsouth that mentioned that Saturday's game would be available in HD on Sportsouth (channel 848). I was under the impression that only home games would be in HD, except for national broadcasts and a few PTV road games. If true, this is good news.
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post #3048 of 5355
5/10/08 at 6:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pcgraffy View Post

Did anyone else see the promo during Friday night's Braves game on Sportsouth that mentioned that Saturday's game would be available in HD on Sportsouth (channel 848). I was under the impression that only home games would be in HD, except for national broadcasts and a few PTV road games. If true, this is good news.


According to the 848 program guide on the stb, both the Saturday game in Pittsburgh and the Thursday game in Philadelphia will be on 848. Thats it for away games as far as the program guide goes.
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post #3049 of 5355
5/11/08 at 12:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HomieG View Post

Fox Business News was available in-the-clear QAM. Has it been moved somewhere else, or is it now encrypted?

Anyone know the answer to this?
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post #3050 of 5355
5/13/08 at 7:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by km View Post

According to the 848 program guide on the stb, both the Saturday game in Pittsburgh and the Thursday game in Philadelphia will be on 848. Thats it for away games as far as the program guide goes.

Has anyone seen a list of road games that will be broadcast in HD?

I'm sure there is a logical explanation for this........why spend the money to transport, set-up, and use the HD equipment for just one game of the Pittsburgh series and just one game of the Philadelphia series. Doesn't this require even more equipment, when some of the games are done in HD and some in SD? Wouldn't it be more economical to do them all the same?
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post #3051 of 5355
5/13/08 at 11:34am
SportSouth probably wasn't transporting their own HD equipment. It's my understanding that generally the home broadcaster does most of the camera work (this may differ for channels like YES or NESN that broadcast every game in HD) and just passes that to the away broadcaster for adding graphics and announcers. FSN Pittsburgh was no doubt filming all 4 games in HD. So if the bandwidth is available at the main FSN facility, they can pass the HD feed to us. I imagine they try to rotate which away broadcasts get that bandwidth to be fair, so we might only get one or two a month. Once FSN's new facility is up and running there should be a lot more bandwidth and hopefully we'll get all the games in HD when the home broadcaster is producing it that way.
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post #3052 of 5355
5/14/08 at 11:40am
Saw the wierdest thing this morning. The Today Show on channel 806 was really choppy and juddery. It was only this channel, I checked ABCHD, DISHD and ESPNHD as well as non-HD NOG and they all looked fine. Never seen this before. It was like a weird stutter in the signal coming across making all of the movements look choppy...kind of like the movement in GTA4. Will check NBCHD tonight to see if it was just the channel or that particular show. But I watch that every morning and have never seen it before.
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post #3053 of 5355
5/14/08 at 11:46am
you probably have to reset your hdmi connection. this used to happen all the time on one of my boxes. unplug the hdmi cable from your box for a minute then re-connect. see if that helps. you may want to unplug your box while you do this just in case.
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post #3054 of 5355
5/19/08 at 12:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bmr4life View Post

I just got comcast cable about 2 weeks ago and had ABC on 98-3 for a couple days, but then it just disappeared.

Is there a QAM channel list I can get anywhere?

I have the same problem. In the mornings I get ABC and FOX HD just fine but as soon as prime time hits they disappear.
Is it because I don't have a cable box and I'm taking the cable straight to the TV?
NBC and CBS HD come in just fine all hours of the day.
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post #3055 of 5355
5/21/08 at 1:12pm
I emailed WSB to ask about the Dolby Digital 5.1 issue. They responded and said it should be fixed in June.
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post #3056 of 5355
5/21/08 at 5:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony Touch View Post

I emailed WSB to ask about the Dolby Digital 5.1 issue. They responded and said it should be fixed in June.

Did they say what year?
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post #3057 of 5355
5/22/08 at 5:11pm
Anyone else unable to see 802 (Peachtree TV HD) for the Braves game tonight? Its black on my end and all Comcast can tell me is that they are working on it.
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post #3058 of 5355
5/23/08 at 9:03am
Is anyone getting all 3 of WGTV's channels on Comcast?

OTA they have the HD and two SD. One of the SD's is a simulcast of the HD, the other is alternate programming.

On QAM I see

SCANNING: 79000000 (us-bcast:5, us-cable:5)

PROGRAM: 1: 8.1 WGTV-HD (no data)
PROGRAM: 2: 8.2 WGTV-SD (no data)
PROGRAM: 3: 8.3 WGTV-SD (no data)
PROGRAM: 802: 0.0
PROGRAM: 808: 0.0


Nothing actually comes in on 5-1,2,3.

5-808 is of course the HD feed (8.1) and 80-205 is the SD simulcast (8.2), but I don't see 8.3 anywhere. (5-802 is Peachtree/Braves)

I want 8.3 since it reportedly plays Washington Week live on Fridays, rather than dead on Sunday.
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post #3059 of 5355
5/23/08 at 4:27pm
Any ATL folks pull content off their DCTs with FireWire? Mine has been working fine for several years, now I don't get any audio in the TS streamed out of the 1394 port. Also there is no video on the screen when I am trying to pull a stream off the 1394 port. Could Comcast have broke the firewire port in a recent firmware update?
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post #3060 of 5355
5/24/08 at 9:19am
I use a DCT3412 w/firewire out to a Myth box. No problems with records, just tried one now as a test. Have you powered off both ends, and possibly moved the firewire cable to the other port just to see? If still no worky, get them to swap the box, it's probably isolated. Have you tried known good channels (like the locals) which we know don't have any content protection?
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