Seattle, WA - Comcast - Page 6

Saw the hdtv commercial again.. its pretty pathetic when we yern for PBS in hdtv becuase the cable company wont give us anything else (besides the mariners games, which i am still feeling SUPER lucky for, which makes things even more pathetic)..

No New Info here.. just getting tired of comcasts crap over and over and over and over and over and over and over again..

Oh geez..

You COULD still have AT&T and be watching NOTHING in HDTV.

brvheart-

Good point. Craptacular HDTV support is better than no HDTV support, I s'pose.

Andy

here's some info I saw on another forum... maybe some progress? at least another date...

http://www.hdtvpub.com/local/viewRep...819/cableco_1/

OOHhhh.....

Look at me holding my breath!!!

/sarcasm_off

At some point they could be subject to bait and switch laws, or at the least misleading advertising laws. I've seen the same ad for the last 2 months now. "New technology such as HDTV...Mariners, Showtime, HBO, and (say it with me people) "coming soon" your local PBS!".

I think a few people here were also told when they queried about the HDTV upgrade that a certain PBS station would be available at then end of the month.......of JUNE! They now have taken 2 months of that HD box rental out of all those people's pockets.

I'm starting to believe politicians more than Seattle Comcast, and that scares the livin' jeebus out of me.

I'll be interested to see what luck I have with the Mariners broadcast tonight. Seems like there must be something going on in Shoreline from about 4pm - 8pm that screws up the picture and makes it glitch and tear like crazy. All the night games seem to start clearing up after an hour or so and the last time they had a day game it was perfect the first couple of hours before it started going downhill.

If it does it tonight I think I'll finally call and complain. I just think when I do call I'm gonna be sitting on hold while I'm transferred all over the place from the 1st guy to answer the phone, to the HD guy, to the Shoreline guy and back.

I think I'm gonna give them until the new tv season starts before I buy an STB and a Silver Sensor to see if I can just get the locals myself.

just for the heck of it, i called comcast. as expected, the csrs had no clue about espn-hd. also, no date on pbs yet either...

I'll be surprised if we get ESPN in Seattle when everyone else does.

X-wing:


But I don't even believe in jeebus!
...save me jeebus!

I called Comcast again. The CSR had no idea when KCTS or ESPN-HD would be coming available.

The CSR mentioned that it takes time because of the contract negotiations. I pointed out that Comcast has already signed agreements with KCTS and with ESPN and that ESPN-HD is already available in most metropolitan areas where Comcast provides HD service. Of course providing that info to her wasn't helpful - she still didn't have a date for rollout.

I hope somebody else does better with their inquiries.

Within the span of 10 minutes of watching KOMO (via DirecTV because I can't get any OTA signal) I saw KOMO's ad proclaiming "you can get our High Definition broadcast today, for free!". Topped off w/ "We're broadcasting HD right now! You can watch these (insert list) shows today!"

And literally the first commercial at the next break was Comcast's ad for their HDTV package with the laughable "coming soon, KCTS" tag line.

Made me shed a tear a'la the Native American in the old trash ads.

It's a pissing match obviously. Makes me really believe more that it's Comcast doing the gouging as why else would KOMO willingly advertise the free nature of their HD/DTV signal......

they'll take more viewers any way they can get them...

espnhd is on channel 100 NOW! (although, they're not showing HD programming now - next game is on sunday at 5 pm PST)

not sure what they're doing with the existing mariners broadcasts in HD on 100, and can't seem to find any other HD programming, but at least something new...

So right now ESPN-HD on Ch 100 is showing the Houston-Atlanta game, but it's not a 16:9 format HD production. It seems to be an upconverted version of the regular 4:3 ESPN broadcast. Is this being transmitted as 1080i? My TV seems to think so (Sony 36XBR400). Unfortunately as a result, it INSISTS on turning on the 16:9 "anamorphic squeeze" mode. No way to override it. So the 4:3 program is being squished into a 16:9 box.

The inability to override the 16:9 squeeze is probably a limitation of my TV - but is what Comcast is doing "legitimate" per HDTV specs? Shouldn't they really be transmitting this 4:3 show with black bars on the side?

It's not a HiDef broadcast. ESPN-HD schedule

So the short answer is, ESPN-HD stretches 4:3 content to 16:9.

ESPN shows everything 720p, including 4:3 SD material (like this game). Problem is, they stretch all 4:3 content to the 1280x720 format before sending it out. Your tv is probably upconverting it to 1080i like my Sony does (as it doesn't have a native 720p capabilities).

So in this case, it's not Comcasts fault....I almost choked actually saying that.....*shrugs*

EDIT: What Tivolicous said....except with at slight german accent.

also, the comcast moto 5100 stb doesn't support auto native hd, so the config setting you use will matter - i.e., most of us probably leave it in the 1080i ouput res mode (since espnhd is the first 720p station we have for cable).

i'm curious to see on sunday whether 720p native output looks better than upscaling to 1080i on my system. i've thought the 1080i ouput i see on my dtv stb makes espnhd a bit soft, but it might end up being a 720p vs 1080i source issue (i.e., fsnhd looks quite sharp in 1080i & the espnhd in hd i've seen to date looks soft compared to it) - we'll see...

so, does this mean that we lose the mariners on channel 100? Hopefully, they'll still show the mariners in HD as scheduled (like saturday) instead of stretched espn....

glad that comcast has gotten this online here so fast though...that's great!

Cheers,

Rich

i don't think so. they show the schedule through end of september. also, this is a diferentiator vs satellite or ota.

hopefully we'll get a formal announcement 'soon'...

Are any of you guys having any luck getting Comcast for HDTV with only the basic analog (13.00 or so) package? They are giving me the run around on this saying I must "upgrade" to a digital package. I know I've read here on the forum otherwise for some folks. And.. does anyone have the link to Comcasts web page that quotes "no extra programming required to recieve local HDTV"..or something like that... I've visited that page but lost the Link. I want to read to them from their own page when they tell me no again. Thanks Alot. Rick

rick - try...

http://www.cmcsk.com/pressroom/cable_hdtv.cfm

at the bottom...

For non-Digital Cable customers who wish to receive only broadcast HDTV signals, Comcast will provide a digital set-top box with an HDTV decoder at the published monthly equipment charge.

i have basic digital for now as i didn't know what channels would be included (e.g., espnhd probably wouldn't be as its not a local broadcast signal)

Well, actually - now that I think about it - it MUST be 1080i into my TV simply because my 5100 box is set to output 1080i over component. But that's not really my issue - either 720p or 1080i are just fine.

What I don't like is that they are stretching 4:3 programming to 16:9. My 4:3 TV (Sony 36XBR400) simply has no way to "unstretch" this picture to look normal. Real ESPN HD programming in 16:9 will look just fine, I imagine. But SD programming will be un-watchable. Too bad, since the upconverted SD picture quality on ch 100 looks MUCH better than the regular ESPN picture on ch. 31.

I saw a thread over in the HD Programming forum with a poll about this, but it's missing the real answer: ESPN should show 4:3 programming in 4:3, period. Nearly every 16:9 HD TV set can stretch a 4:3 picture for itself, if desired. But many 4:3 HD TV sets (like mine) often CANNOT un-stretch a 16:9 picture.

I don't think channel 100 is the final home for ESPN HD. It's still labeled FSNHD after all. It just happens to be an HD slot that's available that few people are watching.

I expect the Mariners will be in HD on Channel 100 on Saturday, and ESPN HD will be given its own channel by then. If not, then ESPN will be preempted by the M's.

I haven't been able to get squat for 2 days now, even regular cable channels. I tried calling yesterday and there was a recording saying they are having problems throughout the Puget Sound Area. Sure doesn't sound like anyone here is having problems.

Comcast Adds ESPN HD to Its HDTV Service in Washington

More Than 1 Million Homes to Have Access to High-Definition
Television Programming

SEATTLE, July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast Cable, the country's leading
cable and broadband communications provider, today announced that ESPN HD will
be available beginning Monday, August 4, as part of its high-definition
television (HDTV) service, giving more than 1 million homes throughout
Washington access to even more robust HDTV programming.
In addition to ESPN HD, Comcast offers HD programming from HBO, SHOWTIME,
selected Mariner home games and beginning Aug. 7, KCTS.
"We are pleased to be able to bring our customers outstanding content from
ESPN with all the sights, sounds and unbelievable detail of sports programming
that only an HDTV signal can provide," said Rick Lang, Regional Vice President
of Marketing. "The addition of ESPN HD demonstrates our continuing commitment
to provide our customers with the most robust high-definition content
possible."
HDTV technology provides video and audio that is clearer, sharper and more
vibrant than previous video transmission systems. The service is available
for customers with an HDTV-ready television set and uses a digital cable box
provided by Comcast. In addition, Comcast is working with leading cable and
broadcast programmers to offer the most robust HDTV content lineup possible.
In addition to HDTV, customers who subscribe to Comcast Digital Cable can
receive more than 250 channels, including dozens of commercial-free premium
movie channels, 45 channels of commercial-free music, an interactive on-screen
guide and pay per view sports packages.
For more information about Comcast's products and services, please call
1-800-COMCAST or visit the company's Web site at http://www.comcast.com.

About Comcast Cable
Headquartered in Philadelphia, Comcast Cable is a division of
Comcast Corporation, a developer, manager and operator of broadband cable
networks and provider of programming content. Operating in 17 of the
United States' 20 largest metropolitan areas, Comcast is one of the leading
communications, media and entertainment companies in the world. Providing
basic cable, Digital Cable, high-speed Internet and telephone services,
Comcast Cable is the company to look to first for the communications products
and services that connect people to what's important in their lives. The
company's 55,000 employees, in six divisions, serve more than 21 million
customers.

CONTACT: press, Steve Kipp of Comcast Cable, +1-425-398-6150, or
steve_kipp@cable.comcast.com.