Seattle, WA - Comcast - Page 470

hello there. i'm a newbie to HDTV and avs forum. i live in the bellevue area. just bought an HDTV, and now i'm deciding which HD provider to subscribe to. i watch relatively few channels, mainly network, discovery, espn, food net, tnt, so the number of channels isn't all that critical. i'm more interested in better PQ. i'm currently deciding between comcast and direct TV (Fios TV is not available to me yet). i've read that direct TV have a bit better PQ b/c comcast is compressing their HD content too much as of last year. is that still the case currently? all response would be appreciated.

Sounders FC playing in US Open Final on Weds night and Comcast is only showing in Standard Def on 401. I'm sure there are all sorts of broadcasting "rights" involved that prevent customers from getting a quality product yet again. Tell me this is on HD on Satellite and I may finally have to throw in the towel on Comcast.

Not quite true:
1) DirecTV has ALWAYS re-compressed HD channels to save bandwidth, including locals.
2) Comcast just started doing this last year
3) Comcast only does this for some cable channels (specifically, those channels for which they are the distributor). Local channels are passed thru "as-is" - exactly the same as the local OTA broadcast.

Well, I'm sure some HD "snobs" (no offense intended) on this forum have strong opinions regarding picture quality of Comcast v. Satellite, but for a normal viewer, all HD looks great, and you probably can't tell the difference. Base your decision on other factors !

I agree, there are many other factors that are going to affect your enjoyment of HDTV.

IMHO, viewing distance is one of the most important - much more important than compression differences. Here is a calculator.

Regarding 'HD snobs', a wise friend commented long ago that 'audiophiles listen for distortion, music lovers listen to the music'. Extending that concept, he would now say to relax and enjoy the movies on your HDTV... (or 'videophiles watch for artifacts...')

I live in the Juanita area of Kirkland (WA0310) and saw a notice from Comcast that they are killing the remaining analog channels towards the end of September (28th I think).

From the time they pull the trigger on the cutoff, approx how long would it be before they made the newest batch of HD channels available?

Additional HD channels will arrive two weeks after the second cut of analog channels.

I got a message on my box the other day announcing that the NFL RedZone Channel will be added on September 13th (I think the message said it will be on Channel 410). The message did not specify whether the channel would be HD or SD and only one channel number was given.

The NFL RedZone Channel is being produced in HD, but I assume that an SD version will also be distributed (although maybe not, there are a couple of HD-only channels out there). Does anyone know whether Comcast will be bringing us the HD version of the channel or is it possible that we will get SD only?

Comcast raising rates in Washington by 3 percent
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm..._in_washi.html

that article implies if I get Comcast voice, I use the same modem as the internet, but when I call, Comcast tells me that it is a separate modem - thus I have to pay for the price increase for each modem...so my question for the forum is - 1 modem or 2 to have voice and internet?

I have just one modem but I am leasing that from Comcast. It's theirs. I have the Triple play package.

@wareagle: thanks for the pointer to qam channels.

One more question regarding receiving KINGDT or KOMODT using AVerTV HD Duet tuner card. I get stuttering video/audio when tuning to those two channels on tuner card (PQ on KiroDT or CW DT is great), while cable box has no problem. How can I get good signal? Call comcast? Thanks!

I thought I heard using a single modem for both voice and internet is OK if you have just one phone, but if you want to "activiate" all your phone jacks in the house, it takes a second modem?

Nope, all my jacks are live.

Time to buy a cable modem with rental rates going from $3 to $5. Motorola SD5101 for $50 at New Egg. Recovery in 10 months.

I hope this isn't off-topic, but I wanted to share my recent experience with Comcast's CSR:

I live in Olympia. I noticed on that my latest bill looked different. For my internet, it listed the same price of $27.95 its listed the past few months (I switch to "Economy" internet speed to save money.) However, the cost was now broken up between $24.95 for the actual internet service, and $3.00 for a modem lease. I've owned my own Motorola Surfboard Modem for about 7 years, so this was a surprise to me.

I called and the CSR looked it up and confirmed that my serial was my own modem. She said she then took that $3 off my future bills and that she would also credit my account for the years that I was charged this lease fee.

She then also mentioned several new promotions, including an upgrade from Digital Starter to Digital Preferred for $10.99 a month, including a year of Showtime. Even though I really want channels like ESPNU and National Geographic, I turned it down because I'm trying to save money.

I then grabbed my co-worker and told him I had a decent CSR on the phone and he needed to speak to her immediately. She promptly took $20 a month off of his Triple Play package.

It all depends on who's on the other end of the line!

I have had issues with KOMO on Comcast since last Sunday... PQ dropping and audio dropping too every few seconds.
Is it KOMO or Comcast ?
I've seen it before but not for more than a few hours at a time. It's been a few days now...

I often see signal strength problems on KOMO (in Seattle proper) and then will also see problems with KCTS, since they are both in the same band. I can usually get enough signal by tweaking my cables - moving them around and cleaning/reattaching.

If you check back on this forum over the last several years, you'll see lots of problem reports for KOMO-HD, particularly audio issues. Many of those were caused by encoder equipment problems at KOMO, and showed the same symptoms across Comcast, Satellite and OTA broadcast. Hard to tell with your specific problem - household or neighborhood wiring issues can cause localized problems.

I live in Sammamish, I still have problems getting the proper guide data, particularly for channels 700-706. I am giving two choices: comcast, or comcast king county jerald. If I choose the latter, I get weird channel names for 700-706 and thus no guide data.

What do others in the area pick for their provider?

While I'm at it, I'm seeing a TON of problems with HD tonight. Max Payne is breaking up, WALL-E had major issues....Anyone else having problems tonight?

I'm just a few blocks from you and have spent most of the night watching old Criminal Minds episodes on A&E (I didn't watch the show during its first few seasons) and have had no problems. I also caught the end of the Mariners game on FSN and it looked great.

Looking on newegg I see they do not support DOCSIS 3.0, which seems to be the new holy grail.

I just started leasing their modem as mine was very old. $5 is a big jump from $3. Comcast does have DOCSIS 3.0 modems but you have to have the more expensive internet plan to get them.

I have to say that their modem has been very reliable.

I've seen a few instances where 82-X has been killed by ingress on the line: CATV 82-X, where KOMO and KCTS live occupies roughly the same bandwidth as KONG (OTA 31-x) does. A loose fitting or a bad splitter, and if you're within a few miles of Queen Anne Hill, it can make reception really difficult. This is, essentially, the digital equivalent of the ghosting we saw from line ingress (on 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13) in the analog days.

OK I see the same problems on KCTS-D. Never noticed before. In TiVo all channels strength is at 100 while KOMO/KCTS are in the lower 40's.

So who's to blame ? Me? or comcast ?
I haven't changed anything in my installation since it started...

Anyone? I can't believe I'm the only person with a Tivo.

I live in Bellevue, but I use 98042 since it has the correct listings. Just answer that you don't know, and respond to the subsequent questions about what channels you see.

I'm in 98074 Sammamish, and reported guide issues a while back. Tivo support told me to use "Comcast Roosevelt" instead of Jerald. Since then, the guide has been correct for at least the enhanced digital and HD channels. (I don't get the rest, so I don't know if they're right or not.)

Why would anyone want DOCSIS 3.0?

Cable modems NEW on ebay runs around $20-$30. If you want to continue paying Comcast to rent, okay.

I used to use various ZIPs, but have found that at least with the latest channel additions, my actual ZIP of 98004 provides me with accurate information.