Chicago, IL - Comcast - Page 243

Well, the 3416 has a HDMI port (as do later versions of the 6412), but the biggest difference is the 3416 is a digital only tuner, so you'll have to be in an area serviced by a digital or analog/digital-simulcasting cable plant. There are other minor physical differences (3416 is a bit smaller and doesn't have as many ports as the 6412), but those are relatively minor.

You can check here to see all the differences..

Thanks. I missed the HDMI port before.

It's Universal Sports and WMAQ-DT just started carrying it this week.

We really ought to be discussing its PQ and its effect on 5.1's PQ on the Chicago OTA thread.

So far, in Chicago Area 2, I can't find it through Comcast at all, only OTA: the box has 5.1 on 188 and 5.2 on 194 but 5.3's content doesn't show up anywhere.  Bypassing the box for the clear QAM channels straight off Comcast's coax, there are only 5.1 and 5.2, and 5.3's nowhere to be found (but 11.2 is now on both 79-5 and 115-5: still not on 11-2).

I just wanted to alert people in case they're getting the same signal (or worse) passed to them.

Anyone happen to be watching 216 (CNNHD) this past week and notice lots of picture break ups? It was bad enough for me to switch to channel 40 instead.

It didn't seem as bad on any channel as it was on 216...is it possible that it was a CNN only problem?

I've now got all my OTA antenna and wiring in place, as well as converter boxes for the televisions that don't have digital tuners. So I'm going to pull the plug on "Digital Preferred" when my six-month special expires next week. I'll keep "Basic Cable" for the local government access and also because it lowers my internet bill.

My question, which I will soon find the answer to by actually doing it, are whether any of the clear QAM digital signals for local broadcast stations are likely to still be there after I make this switch, and whether the Motorola DVR will still work at all.

Anybody made a change like this already?

Well, all's well that ends well. Turns out that when my new neighbor moved in a couple of days ago, a different Comcast tech installed a video filter on my cable line by mistake. A different tech came out this morning and diagnosed the problem pretty quickly. Phew. At least I got a new DVR with a bigger hard drive out of the ordeal.

zqxthree,

I was looking into same situation and called up Comcast. Their CSR informed me that if I went to Basic plan they would not let me keep the DVR/STB as it only for the digital plan customers and they would send a tech out to put filter on to block all the other analog channels.

Unfortunately giving up the DVR STB would not work as our TV has no QAM tuner nor do we have an ability to record shows which is important to us.

You may call them and find out yourself. Let me know if you get a different response.

I have a random question for folks out there regarding Comcast Tech's... I am moving this week and having Comcast installed on Saturday. I noticed while moving in yesterday that the CAT wiring seems old.

I'm wondering what the tech is willing to do to change that? I am going to an older building in Evanston where I will be setting up HSI, Voice and HD cable. With the bandwidth requirements for this setup, is there any way I can request that the wiring be replaced? Also are there specific HD channels to check while I have the tech there for verification that I am getting the best signal possible?

Sorry for the random, rambling questions but I'm trying to get think this through ahead of time before the tech shows up... Thanks!

I don't know if a tech will go so far as to replace wiring that's inside your walls, but any decent tech will measure the signal strength going to your cable box/modem. On the video side, they will activate your cable box and call up a training video located in the On Demand section to test your connection. I think it's around six or seven minutes long, and the techs are told to play the video completely through from beginning to end to ensure the video quality. They will probably go through the diagnostic menu in the cable box to do a quick double-check on signal levels, too. While the tech is there, I recommend that you flip through the dial to make sure you're getting all the channels for your subscription package. The last thing you want is to discover that HBO doesn't come in when the tech is pulling out of your driveway.

I was having trouble recently with some HD channels not coming in properly, and the tech who came out replaced about half the wiring in the house. Two years ago, a different tech had replaced the first half. This required going down into the crawl space and tracing the ancient coax (which used to bring in signal from the roof antenna) from where it came into the house to the holes in the walls where it went into the living area. This was after hooking up a diagnostic box of some kind and checking the signal.

Both times it was no charge, part of the service. Both times they said it was necessary to get a decent signal since the house is 40 years old and I'm guessing that the old black coax is nearly that old. We now have all nice white cable and clean HD.

Looking for help here from you comcast folk.... I'm looking to sign up for the internet-tv double play which comcast states is $66 on their site (for one year). I would need to add an HD package with HD DVR.... what type of HD DVR does comcast typically use.... and how much extra is the HD/HD DVR service a month... thanks!

They use Motorola DCT/DCH boxes with the fugly TV guide software. The HDDVR service is like $12/month extra.

Also... can anyone chime in on how to enable the 30-second skip feature?

The page up & page down buttons will skip 30 seconds forward & backward.

Does Comcast enable the eSATA port for external storage expansion?

From wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Programming_the_Remote:

Add 30-Second Skip

The following technique can be used to map an unused or unneeded button on the "silver" remote to the 30-second skip command. Current versions of the i-Guide software will skip forward 30 seconds into a recording when this command is sent. A good choice is the 'A / Lock' button since many users don't need that function; you can feel both the '15-second-back' and '30-second-skip' buttons with one finger and move between them without looking. Another option is to reprogram the '15-second back' button, since PgDn already provides that functionality.

1. Press the "Cable" button at the top of the remote to put it into Cable Box control mode.
2. Press and hold the "Setup" button until the "Cable" button blinks twice.
3. Type in the code 994. The "Cable" button will blink twice.
4. Press (do not hold) the "Setup" button.
5. Type in the code 00173.
6. Press whatever button you want to map the 30-second skip command to (ex: A / Lock). The "Cable" button will blink twice if successful.

Note: This did not work on boxes with the Microsoft TV Foundation Interface (previously used in Washington State, but now converted back to the i-Guide software). As of firmware version 12.22 Insight Cable disabled this feature, but has been re-enabled in firmware version 16.35. Comcast software Version 73.44 disabled this feature, but the latest software, Version 74.53-3321, re-enables it (this has been confirmed on the 3416 w/ 16.20 firmware). See software for more info.

Note: As of software 75.59, the Page Up key is recognized as an alternate for the 30-second skip.

It looks like the Schaumburg Library's video computer runs Win2K. It's frozen with a pop-up message about an 'Unsafe Removal of Device'. Somebody unplugged or turned off an external hard drive.

I have a pretty large house and I want to distribute my Comcast to a bunch of TVs. The tech who set me up put a booster to the infeed to strengthen the signal.

I plan on having 3 HD-DVR boxes and a bunch of other tv sets hooked up to the wall jack directly and just getting basic cable (perhaps 5-6 other sets). In addition I am using Comcast for my internet and phone.

Will the booster that was installed be enough to power all of this usage, and if not can somebody recommend what I should be to make sure that I can do all of that.

Thanks.

I was just curious whether you have been experiencing any problems without a signal booster. I have about six TVs off a splitter and experience poor tuning when changing channels with the cablebox. I'm suspecting the box (since QAM-equipped TVs do not show the problem), but trying to rule out all other options before spending a lot of time with Comcast.

Just got my bill. In it is this disturbing note:


Does this mean I will lose the extra channels I get above Digital Classic? What plans will offer them? Will I be forced into one of those Silver/Gold plans??

It also looks like my bill will go up by $4 (standard cbl) + $2 (dig classic) + $2 (HD-DVR) + $2 (HDTV) = $10. According to the Comcast site, Classic is $1 less than Preferred.

The Comcast site is a mess. The Channel listing is missing some channels I do receive when I pick Preferred. It also shows that Encore is part of Classic?

Can anybody in the Schaumburg area with Classic + HD look at the .DOC file in the .ZIP file at the link and let me know what I might lose?
http://home.att.net/~andyross/Schaum...e_Channels.zip

And in other news:
9/30 - TLC will move from analog 65 to digital 138.
10/1 - AMC HD, History HD, and HGTV HD will be available on Digital Starter.

I checked the Comcast website and if you get the Digital Preferred package w/1 premium channel it's now Digital Silver btw.[looks to be the same price as the old preferred package w/1 premium channel $84.99]

I think you meant TLN (not TLC)

The price increases are getting ridiculous.

I just have the plain Digital Preferred (currently $68.98), and no premiums. Encore is included with Digital Preferred.

I noticed Comcast is now carrying WMAQ-DT 5.3 (Universal [fuzzy] Sports) on channel 251.

I phoned Comcast after reading AndyRoss's post last night, and the rep told me that what is now Digital Classic is going away, Digital Preferred is being renamed Digital Classic, and customers who have the current Digital Classic will by default be upgraded to the new Digital Classic, which is the same as the current Digital Preferred.

Wonderful, isn't it?

Actually, they should call it "Universal You Tube Sports".

So that means that part of my bill may actually only go up $1 instead of $2 ($2 - $1 former price difference.)

Also, I think I'm being double-charged for the DVR (I only have the DVR.) I'm being charged both for an HD-DVR and 'HD Equipment'. If I can get that dropped, I think my bill may actually decrease!

Unfortunately, they're using WMAQ as its mnemonic, same as for the regular SD feed of channel 5.  (188 is WMAQD and 194 is, I think, WMAQ2.)  But since the guide is not dividing it into programs (somehow TitanTV can do it), you can't schedule a recording from channel 251 by program title or series anyway, so it wouldn't matter that it would record the regular WMAQ instead.  Moreover, who'd want to record repeats of past sports events?  Still, it was careless to duplicate the mnemonic.  I'm surprised that the software even allows it.

Universal Sports is also coming in on Comcast's clear QAM feed on virtual channel 5-3.  (I wouldn't have a way of finding out the real channel.)