Atlanta, GA - Comcast - Page 170

I paid $299 for lifetime Tivo service, so total cost was $400. Might be a few of those clearance Tivo HDs left around.

FYI . . . Cable Card install was fairly painless . . . had a contractor doing his first install . . . misread the S/N at first . . . when he called in for help and informed the other end he was doing a cablecard install, the was a "ohh lord" from the other end . . . took 2 swipes at initializing, but eventually worked . . . maybe 30 minutes total?

Ohh . . . and quite pleased with the Moxi . . . esp the 3rd Tuner!!!!

Anyone else having trouble with both HD and SD ABC QAM channels this weekend?

Random question:

I just added digital basic with HD (I'm in 30308), but the cable boxes that they've tried out here so far are acting oddly. For some reason, I'm missing entire blocks of channels that I should be receiving, e.g., the guide skips from 29 to 106 and from 806 to 808, with the channels in-between simply not showing up, either in the guide or when I try to enter them manually. I've talked to about 10 Comcast people and a tech even came out here, but they haven't figured out what the problem is yet. The tech swapped boxes, removed a "trap" on my line that prevented me from receiving some digital HD channels, like 817, but despite many attempts to initialize the box, I'm still not getting a large number of the channels I should be able to view. Any ideas? (As a check, my upstairs neighbor gets 807 just fine, so it seems to be specific to either my account or my condo.)

Sounds like a box issue to me.

I am thinking about adding Comcast Basic Cable for 2 hdtv's in my house. Do I need 2 STB's through comcast in order to receive an HD signal for the tv's, or am I fine with the built in tuners already in the television? Comcast reps won't give me a solid answer.

You should be able to get the locals in HD over the QAM tuner in your tv (assuming it has one). Not much else.

Note, I haven't scanned in the last few months on the QAM...someone else may have more updated info.

First define what you mean by "Basic". Some people think basic is just local stations, others define basic as local stations + a dozen or so other channels like CNN. Comcast has two "Basic" packages: one package is "Limited Basic" and the other is "Expanded Basic". BOTH packages have non-broadcast channels. The "Limited Basic" is 36 channels, including dreck like QVC and Home Shopping Network. Expanded Basic has the good stuff like ESPN, TBS, CNN, Fox News, etc.

If you just want to see local stations, you are in luck. If you mean local + others, then half and half. For the most part, "Basic" is SD Basic not HD Basic.

All the cable/satellite/telephone TV providers charge extra to get HD. You can pay extra to get the all the basic line-up in HD.

Comcast is the exception to the other providers in that they do allow the "local" broadcast OTA (over the air, like WSB channel 2) stations' HD signal to pass through unfiltered using the HD TV's built in tuner. No other pay TV companies in this market allow that. With Comcast, the local HD signals are the only thing you do not have to pay extra for, in the HD channel range.

The catch is that all the other channels are SD (unless you spring for HD service) and you have to use an A/B switch to jump back and forth from Comcast DTV box and your TV tuner.

To see any other channels besides local OTA broadcast stations you will need some form of electronic verification that you are a Comcast customer and what level of programming you are entitled to see -- just like all the other satellite/telephone TV companies have ALWAYS done. This electronic verification can be internal cable card (if your HDTV has that capability) or external DTV box or full-fledged set top box.

The DTV boxes are small contraptions that come with a remote control and output SD signal only. You get up to two simple DTV boxes per household. (To see the local stations in HD with a DTV box, you have to use an A/B switch to switch between the box and your QAM tuner.) Since you have two HDTVs, you are in luck. Any more DTV boxes after that you will pay additional monthly fee. Or you can upgrade to HD set top box, to see everything possible in your programming package in HD.

Since Dish dropped most of the FSN channels, the main advantage over Comcast is gone so I have been looking into switching. However, when I put in my address on the website, I don't see any of the WoM channels. I'm in Alpharetta, zip code 30022. This is pretty concerning because I thought all of the new channels were available here months ago! Is anyone else in 30022 that can confirm whether the complete set of HD channels is available? I'd like to get in on this $119 triple play...

Ask a neighbor, maybe?

All the neighbors I talk to have Dish or DirecTV

Got an email back from Comcast just saying my neighborhood has been "prepared for Xfinity" but that they could only confirm the limited HD channels that I could myself. Guess I'll wait till they get all the new channels here

ETA: Since UGA is going to be on CSS next Saturday, I decided to switch to Comcast anyway (told Dish over a year ago I'd do that if they hadn't added CSS before it happened). Go figure, once the installer got everything set up I do have all the WoM channels. Still not the biggest fan of the guide, but this is a lot nicer than the DVR I had a few years ago!

SiliconDust's Channel Lineup will show you a pretty current rundown of what's available in unencrypted QAM for your Zip Code.

I'm considering moving from Directv to Comcast/Xfinity Atlanta when my current Directv commitment ends. Unfortunately, I'm having a difficult time getting straight answers about Comcast's programming current packages. Can anybody help me out with any of the following? :

1. What channels do you gain by moving from Digital Starter to Preferred or Premiere? Comcast's website gives the same channel line up for all packages (which I would link to if I were allowed to post URLs).

2. Is there an extra fee to access HD programming?

3. Does Comcast currently offer msnbc or Comedy Central in HD?

4. Are any of the various extra HBO channels (e.g., HBO2, HBO Zone, etc.) broadcast in HD?

Any advice would be appreciated (and much more than any Comcast rep can offer!).

I am pretty sure there is a fee for HD ($10?)

as for premiere i think it has a couple of popular HD channels like Bravo, Food Network, Style, etc.. someone please correct me.

I have showtime and get 5 or 6 of their channels in HD so i would assume you'd be getting at least that many with HBO...and yes, you'll get MSNBC and Comedy Central in HD (and FX, MLB Network, a lot of other ones that some markets still don't get).

HD fee depends on the deal you get, the triple play I signed up for a couple of weeks ago just had the HD fee rolled in. Best way to figure out which channels are in which tier is to use the "print lineup" functionality when you're viewing your local channel list. This isn't perfectly clear but it's easy to see that Digital Starter only gets you a few channels over 100. You need to go to Preferred to get the rest (on my list, these show as parts of Digital Classic and Digital Basic).

Corrected. Digital Starter includes Food Network, Style and Bravo. You do not need Premier for that.




1. I have Digital Starter + HD. There's about 3 channels I wish I could get in my package but would have to move up to the next tier:

• Nat Geo
• Science
• Bio

Other than that, Digital Starter gives a lot of bang for the buck.


2. It's like $9 extra for HD. If you get the HD-DVR ($15?), HD is included of course. BUT just paying the HD fee does NOT grant you access to ALL the HD channels. It gets you access to all the HD channels in your package. With Digital Starter + HD, you still will not get Nat Geo HD because Digital Starter does not include Nat Geo channel.


3. Yes, Comedy Central in good HD. MSNBC also.

4. Yes.


Takes an art to understand the channel choices, I agree. For instance with "Digital Starter", you don't just get the few channels LISTED in the Digital Starter tier below. You get those + all the channels in the tiers above that.


Also MOST of Comcast's HD channels are in the 800 tier. "Most" I said. Yes, some are now also in the 700s. But all the 800s is HD territory and they are the counterparts to SD channels lower down (example: 57 is Food Network SD, 857 is Food Network HD).

But rule of thumb is if you get Digital Starter + HD service, you can scan down this list and you will get everything between the break lines, plus their HD counterparts. I LIVE in the 800 tier, I really don't care about anything else.

For instance, 34 is CNN SD, and you would also get 834 CNN HD. But you have to scroll down to the "HDTV" tier to see what those channels are. Some don't match up evenly -- for instance, 39 is TBS SD, but 807 is TBS HD -- because 839 is taken by Nat Geo HD. (consequences of Comcast's shortsighted numbering scheme back when HD channels were not ubiquitous.)




Channel Lineup


Last updated: 08/10/2010

=====================================
Limited Basic

2 WATC (Ind. 57) Atlanta
3 WSB (ABC 2) Atlanta
4 WAGA (FOX 5) Atlanta
6 WXIA (NBC 11) Atlanta
7 WPCH (Peachtree TV/Ind. 17) Atlanta
8 WGTV (PBS 8) Atlanta
9 WGCL (CBS 46) Atlanta
10 WUPA (CW) Atlanta
11 WHSG (TBN 63) Monroe
12 WPXA (ION) Rome/Atlanta
13 WATL (My Network) Atlanta
14 WUVG (Univision 34) Athens
15 WGN (Ind. 9) Chicago
16 WPBA (PBS 30) Atlanta*
19 HSN
20 QVC
21 Access
22 Access
23 Access
24 Access
25 Access
26 Access
27 TV Guide Network*
28 Access*
29 Access*
211 NBC Weather Plus (WXIA)*
245 Universal Sports (WXIA)*
246 WGTV-DT (Knowledge)*
247 WGTV-DT (Kids)*
248 WSB-DT (Retro Television Network)*
249 WUVM-LP (Azteca America)*
250 WUVG-DT (Telefutura)*
263 WDTA (Daystar)*

Expanded Basic

30 C-SPAN
32 The Weather Channel
33 TLC
34 CNN
35 CNN Headline News
36 CNBC
37 Fox News
38 A&E
39 TBS
40 The Discovery Channel
41 TNT
42 USA Network
43 FX
44 Versus
47 ESPN
48 Fox Sports Net
49 The Gold Channel
50 MTV
51 VH1
53 SportsSouth
54 ABC Family
55 Lifetime
56 E!
57 Food Network
58 truTV
59 HGTV
60 Travel Channel
61 Animal Planet
63 Nickelodeon
64 Disney Channel
65 TV Land
66 AMC
68 Comedy Central
69 Turner Classic Movies
70 Bravo
71 TV One
72 BET
74 Syfy
75 Speed Channel
78 Spike TV


Digital Starter (everything in this section PLUS the two previous sections above is "Digital Starter")

1 ON DEMAND
18 WKTB (Telemundo Atlanta)^
45 Comcast Sports Southeast
46 ESPN
52 History
62 Cartoon Network
120 MSNBC
129 style.
137 Hallmark
168 CMT
185 FearNet
198 Oxygen
202 Lifetime Movie Network
295 Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters (AIB)
805 CSS HD^
884 SportSouth HD^

==========================================

Sports and Entertainment Package

118 NFL Network
124 Fox Soccer Channel
127 Tennis Channel
281 FMC
289 NFL Network
290 Fox College Sports Atlantic
291 Fox College Sports Central
292 Fox College Sports Pacific
293 NBA TV
294 GOL TV (English)
296 NHL Network
297 Big Ten Network
299 NFL RedZone
799 NFL Red Zone HD^

Digital Premiums

301 HBO East
303 HBO 2
304 HBO Comedy
305 HBO Signature
306 HBO Zone
307 HBO Family
309 HBO Latino
311 HBO (West)
321 Starz
323 Starz Edge
324 Starz InBlack
325 Starz Kids & Family
326 Starz Cinema
327 Starz Comedy
331 Cinemax (West)
341 Cinemax (East)
343 MoreMAX
345 ActionMAX
346 ThrillerMAX
347 WMAX
348 OuterMAX
349 @ Cinemax
350 Five Star Max
361 Showtime
362 Showtime Beyond
364 Showtime Too
366 Showtime Showcase
368 Showtime Extreme
369 Showtime Family Zone
370 Showtime Next
371 Showtime Women
381 The Movie Channel
383 The Movie Channel Extra
390 KTN - Lorean Television
393 TV Japan
394 Zee TV
395 Set Asia (Sony)
396 STAR India Plus
543 Playboy
880 HBO HDTV^
885 Cinemax HDTV^
890 Showtime HDTV^
895 Starz HDTV^

Digital Pay-Per-View

400 Pay-Per-View Previews
401 Events
404 iN Demand Movies
440 Hot Choice
441 Club Jenna
442 SPICE:XCESS
443 Playboy
444 Playboy en Espanol
445 fresh!
446 SKiN TV
449 Penthouse TV

Digital Sports Packages

451 ESPN Full Court
470 NBA Preview
471 NBA Leauge Pass/MLS Direct Kick
482 NBA TV
771 NHL Center Ice

Selecto

500 Canal SUR
501 CNN en Español
502 Canal 52MX
504 GOL TV
505 ESPN Deportes
506 Fox Sports en Español
507 Cine Mexicano
508 Cine Latino
509 TVE International
510 Discovery en Español
511 History en Español
512 Disney XD
513 VeneMovies
521 Gran Cine
525 Mexico 22
526 Once TV
527 EWTN en español
528 ¡Sorpresa!
530 WUVG-DT (Telefutura)
531 Galavision
532 Azteca America (WUVM-LP)
533 TV Chile
534 TV Colombia
648 WKTB (Telemundo Atlanta)

Digital Classic

106 Fox Bussiness Network
107 Current TV
108 Fox Reality
109 CBS College Sports
121 ESPNews
122 ESPN Classic
123 MLB Network
125 CSPAN 3
128 The Game Show Network
130 BBC America
131 Discovery Health
132 Science Channel
133 Discovery Kids
134 G4
135 Nick Jr.
136 NASA
138 National Geographic
139 Encore Wam
140 Independent Film Channel
142 Encore
143 Encore Drama
144 Encore Love
145 Encore Mystery
146 Encore Westerns
147 Encore Action
148 ShopNBC
149 Jewlery Television by ACN
150 Access
155 MoviePlex
162 MTV 2
163 MTV Hits
164 VH1 Classic Rock
165 VH1 Soul
166 CMT Pure Country
167 MTV Jams
170 Great American Country
182 The Africa Channel
183 INDIEplex
184 Retroplex
189 Gospel Music Channel
195 Soap Net
199 WE
206 CNN International
207 Bloomberg
210 Outdoor Channel
212 Weatherscan
218 History International
219 BIO
220 The Military Channel
221 Investigation Discovery
253 Planet Green
254 DIY
255 Fine Living
256 Fit TV
261 The Word Network
262 Halogen
264 EWTN
265 Family Net
266 Disney XD
267 Teen Nick
268 Nick2
269 Nicktoons
270 Boomerang
271 PBS Kids Sprout
275 Centric
276 BET Hip Hop
277 BET Gospel
280 Sundance
284 Fuse
288 Logo
384 Flix
514 MTV Tr3s
529 mun2
823 MLB Network HDTV^
839 National Geographic HDTV^
894 MGM HDTV^
898 IFC HDTV^
899 Encore HDTV^


HDTV (these are the HD versions of channels you will get in your package. If you pay the HD fee or have the HD-DVR you will get all the HD channels in your package)

801 HDTV Special Events^
802 WPCH (Ind. 17 - Peachtree TV) HDTV^
803 WSB (ABC) HDTV^
804 WAGA (FOX) HDTV^
806 WXIA (NBC) HDTV^
807 TBS HDTV^
808 WGTV (PBS 8) HDTV^
809 WGCL (CBS) HDTV^
810 WUPA (CW) HDTV^
812 WPXA (ION) HDTV^
813 WATL (MyNetwork) HDTV^
816 WPBA (PBS) HDTV^
833 TLC HDTV^
834 CNN HDTV^
838 A&E HD^
840 Discovery HDTV^
841 TNT HDTV^
842 USA Network HDTV^
844 HD Theatre^
845 VERSUS HD^
846 ESPN HDTV^
847 ESPN2 HDTV^
848 FSN South HDTV^
849 Golf HD^
850 Palladia HD^
851 Vh1 HDTV^
852 History HD^
854 ABC Family HDTV^
856 AMC HDTV^
857 FOOD HDTV^
859 HGTV HDTV^
861 Animal Planet HDTV^
864 Disney Channel HDTV^
870 NBC Universal HD^
874 Syfy HD^
879 NFL Network HD^
896 Hallmark Movie Channel HDTV^
897 Lifetime Movie Network HDTV^

Music Choice

901 Hit List
902 Hip-Hop and R&B
903 Mix Tape
904 Dance/Electronica
905 Rap
906 Hip Hop Classic
907 Throwback Jamz
908 Classic R&B
909 R&B Soul
910 Gospel
911 Reggae
912 Classic Rock
913 Retro-Active
914 Rock
915 Metal
916 Alternatives
917 Classic Alternatives
918 Adult Alternative
919 Soft Rock (Formerly Lite Hits)
920 Pop Hits
921 90's
922 80's
923 70's
924 Solid Gold Oldies
925 Party Favorites
926 Stage & Screen
927 Kidz Only!
928 Toddler Tunes
929 Today's Country
930 True Country
931 Classic Country
932 Contemporary Christian
933 Sounds of the Seasons
934 Soundscapes
935 Smooth Jazz
936 Jazz
937 Blues
938 Singers & Swing
939 Easy Listening
940 Classical Masterpieces
941 Light Classical
942 Musica Urbana
943 Pop Latino
944 Tropicales
945 Mexicana
946 Romances
*Included in Limited Basic requires additional equipment. ^ HD Equipment required.

Channel Lineup subject to change.

the extra Showtime HD channels are in the 700s - drives me crazy. i hate having to navigate back to that part of the guide

Oleus, Commodore, & ChazzMatt, many thanks for your help!

I can see why Comcast would to make comparison shopping with D* and E* difficult, but it's frustrating from a consumer standpoint.

Actually, all of the HD premium channels (HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz and The Movie Channel - main & extra channels) are in the 700 series, from 701 to 741. The main premium channels - HBO, Cinemax, Showtime and Starz are also in the 800 series as listed above, but I think those 800 channels will eventually disappear since they are already in the 700 level.

ChazzMat, I only have Digital Starter + HD & not any sport package & I have the NFL Network.

has anyone in a transitioned area seen TWC's HD IS2 yet on channel 832?

Thanks in advance

I haven't.

Well we are all well motivated to post, when bad things happen, but let me share this anecdote that has a happy ending.

Last Wed, when I got home from work, my Cable TV was fine but my Comcast internet was out. Long story short I live in an older apt. building with (thusly) older cable plant. Sometimes these old components fail/degrade & cause problems for other people in the same unit. Turns out that just inside the wall behind the master drop to my apt. were a couple of filters & one splitter. One of the filters was degrading & so roving comcast maint put another filter on the outside drop. This caused HSI to fail. So a tech came inside & replaced the degrading filter there & removed the purple filter outside as well.

I was watching football while all of this was happening. I have an older 60" Sony RPTV. If you are familiar with RPTV's you know that they have a little trouble displaying large areas with the same color (i.e green (or blue ) football fields tend to shimmer). I have gotten use to this, but I know it is still there. After the technician finished I noticed an immediate improvement (that is less shimmering). It was not dramatic, but it is there nontheless.

Now I feel just a little less about the $14.00 dollar price increase I just received this month.

I would actually say this is a result of the fact that TBS used to be an OTA station and appeared on channel 7 forever (even way back when all their programming started at :05 and :35) before jumping to cable and Comcast had to move it higher in the channel list.

Yes, but also because Comcast was/is trying to cram 200 channels of HD into 100 channel tier:

034 SD CNN became 834 SD CNN --
but 138 SD "Nat Geo" had to become 839 HD "Nat Geo",
because 038 SD "A&E" had already been paired with 838 slot HD "A&E".

You can't have 8xx tier (100 channels) equivalents of all 00-199 SD channels. Comcast didn't think far enough ahead to realize almost all of their SD channels would eventually have HD equivalents and where to put them.

Shhh.... then don't tell anyone.

I have Digital Starter and I get a "not authorized" message.

Frankly, some of the HD channels I never thought would/should exist either.

I say bring back the bluegrass and americana music channels.

You could also make the same arguments about "color TV" back in the 60's. But every program became colored, whether it deserved it or not.

Every video production is transitioning to HD, because everybody is buying HDTVs.

I got a 60" Sony HDTV back in January 2008, so coming up on 3 years of ownership. Back then I was the exception -- with the big screen HDTV -- but now I am more the norm. My brother-in-law just bought a 55" Samsung LED LCD TV.

As HDTVs get LARGER, SD is more painful to watch. I don't watch any channels outside the Comcast 800 HD tier at all. If the channel is not in HD, it doesn't exist for me.

Every TV channel/network, if it wants to stay in existence will have to offer HD. And Comcast will have to figure out where to put them.

Of course, since I stay in the 800s, it doesn't really matter any more if the SD/HD channels stay paired up logically.

Over in the main HD content forum, there has been discussion of Comcast planning on a nationwide channel realignment in the next couple of years, which would presumably make all of the channel assignments more organized.