Denver, CO - Comcast

Jeff,

Thanks for starting this thread, I've been wondering what's going on. Somebody posted in another thread (I think it was the Denver OTA thread) a week or so ago that Comcast HD in Denver was delayed indefinitely.

I noticed a few weeks ago that they had three channels in the guide that I assumed were HD. They had channel 9 on 653, channel 6 on 658, and InHD on 666. Of course, with my digital cable box I was only getting sound on the two locals. I didn't try the InHD channel. When I checked a few days ago, all of those channels had disappeared from the guide. I assumed this was bad news.

When I got the digital service a couple of months ago the tech told me that they were testing HD with their employees who had HD TVs. A couple of weeks later, when my digital signal disappeared completely, the line tech told me that HD would be available in early August. He also indicated that Comcast had or will have a fiber optic connection to each of the local stations and will send that signal over the cable. He also told me that everybody at Comcast would be getting training on HD on July 31.

In the end, I have no idea what's going on, but your post gives me hope. I live at the bottom of Bear Valley right near the creek, and I don't think I have any hope of getting a signal OTA. So, I'm anxiously awaiting Comcast's offering. Heck, I don't even care if its just a few stations at first. I really want to see some HD on my new Sammy HLN507W!!!

Tim

I hope he's right about all of those channels. I don't get Showtime, but the rest of them will be great.

You must be loving that hi-speed Internet. I've had it for a couple of years now, but I remember how great it was at first. Now, it just seems normal. Its amazing how we adjust to things. I suppose HDTV will be the same way.

Tim

I talked to a Comcast tech in Highlands Ranch last week and he said they were rolling HD in the Ranch by the end of the year.

Well, I just called Comcast and the CSR told me that HD is still in testing. Apparently, they were planning on launch at the end of this month, but they aren't going to make it.

It was interesting that the CSR said that they get a status report every morning. I guess they must be getting a lot of calls and are trying to keep the CSRs up to date. I was unable to get a target date for launch.

Tim

Yes Denver will have Comcast HDTV soon,

I was at a friends house yesterday, he is testing the Motorola 5100 box. The picture quality looks great.
As of last night he was able to receive 4 channels:

664 - INHD Preview (2 channels will go live on Sept 15th)
658 - KRMA (the local PBS affiliate)
653 - KUSA (the local NBC affiliate)
650 - Showtime East

I guess by the end of this month they hope to have 3-4 more channels available my guess is HBO East, ESPN-HD and maybe a few more local channels (Fox-480p or ABC).

He says that Comcast is working hard to get everything up and running.

I know I will be getting the service the 1st day they offer it...

Ryan

Does anyone here know whether a STB w/QAM or QAM capable HDTV is able to receive any HDTV during this test period without using the 5100?

Yes, people have done this in both Chicago Comcast and San Francisco Comcast while beta testing was ongoing. But there are no STBs you can buy at retail which do QAM, at least currently. So you need an HDTV with integrated QAM tuner-- I understand a couple of the Mits and a Hitachi have these.

When this was first announced, I was ready to drop $$$ for Comcast HD immediately. Seeing the latest propoals for the channel lineup is giving me pause, though. It is looking like CBS will not be there, ABC is questionable, and ESPN-HD is also not confirmed. I don't get either HBO or Showtime, so those dont' currently interest me.

I'm now seriously thinking of getting an OTA HD card for the pc in the interim until Comcasts offering matures. I'm not in any huge hurry, though, so I'll at least let them officially announce it before making a decision.

Well, that is good news. I noticed that the 3 channels have reappeared in the guide, but I didn't see the Showtime listing. Does anybody know if the InHD channels are pay channels, or are they free "showcase" channels? I couldn't tell from looking at their Web site (http://www.inhd.com/). It sounds like they will be good channels, but I probably wouldn't want to pay any extra for them.

Tim

Jeff,

That's pretty much what I thought. Free sounds great to me. I guess this is a competitor for HDNet.

On another note, does anybody have a clue about what Comcast will be charging for HD cable? It seems that they have different policies in every market. I've seen everything from $5 to over $10 per month. Also, in some places they don't require you to have digital cable, and in others they do. I already have digital, so I'm hoping to keep that box to drive the TiVo, and I'll connect the HD box directly to the TV.

Tim

The CSR I spoke with said that you would get the HD channels as part of any of the digital packages, at least through the end of the year. She said she did not know if rate hikes would occur next year. Of course, we'll see how long it is before we actually have the opportunity to get these channels (from that point, it may not be long until the end of the year).

Just for grins, thought I would post the official sign-up form for getting notified when Comcast HD is available:

http://www.comcastcolorado.com/form/...t.asp?src=HDTV

Good one, yahoojames.

I actually filled out that form a few weeks ago. I fully expect that I'll have HD cable before I get the e-mail from them. That's exactly what happened with my cable modem service a couple of years ago. I was excited that it would soon be available, and called Comcast several times. They repeatedly told me that I would receive something in the mail and that somebody would probably even put a notice on my door as soon as it was available. Well, I actually had the service several weeks before I was notified by mail, and nobody ever put a flyer on my door.

BTW, I have to say that Comcast has always been very good to me. I have no complaints, other than wishing they would get this HD stuff ready right now.

Tim

I was hoping that the Motorola 5100 box that they use could recieve OTA signals, it would seem that as a decoder it would be no problem to have it do this, is that not the case?

Policy,

You're out of luck. The 5100 does not have OTA abilities. You'll need a separate OTA tuner. You can get a lot of info on the 5100 at http://www.cjhengineering.com/5100faq.htm.

Hopefully, Comcast will carry all of the locals soon.

Tim

Well INHD did go live early in Denver (test mode only).
I watched the US Open over the weekend at my friends house.
The picture was very nice and filled the entire screen (16x9).
I had never seen tennis look so good.

I was in making a payment at the local service center today and asked when the HD will be available to the public. All they could tell me was that it should be soon but gave no exact date...

Ryan

Anyone heard if/when the Motorola 6200 (6208) STB will be offered in the Denver market? Here's the press release on the agreement from May:

http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/..._2739_2224.rtf

The details I saw in the Boston market thread said it was expected sometime after Nov 1. I guess based on the press release and their web site, Comcast will be offering both VOD and PVR.

James

I just had an idea to search Google News for Comcast and Denver. I was hoping to turn up some obscure story with all the details of the HD launch. No joy.

However, I did find this interesting tidbit from the Denver Business Journal: http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver...01/daily1.html

Basically, it says that two Broncos MNF games will be broadcast on Comcast (22 Sept and 3 Nov). It then says that the service isn't yet available in Denver. It strikes me as odd that they would publish this on the DBJ web site since we don't have HD yet. With InHD rolling out on the 15th and the Broncos on the 22nd, I'm wondering if they will try to have it available by then? Also, I haven't noticed KMGH in the guide near the other HD channels (650' to 660's), but that's where the MNF games are. KMGH does have a digital channel for news on 207.

Tim

Still no word from Comcast, but I did notice several new channels today when I checked the guide. We now have 8 channels in the HD range (650's and 660's):

Showtime East on 650
HBO East on 651 (newly added)
KUSA on 653
KDVR on 655 (newly added, I presume this will be Fox's 480p widescreen format)
KRMA on 658
In Demand 1 on 664
In Demand 2 on 667 (newly added)
ESPN on 668 (newly added)

That's not a bad lineup. I'd guess we won't be getting CBS for awhile, but I hope that ABC will be added.

Tim

I just signed up for notification at comcast and it says...
Coming in August!

I currently have Dish, but my decision to stay will be made based on HDTV content and a good HDTV PVR. Does anyone know if COmcast will offer such a device and do I (can I) buy it or lease it?

Thanks,

Any update here Denverites? I hate to post and get someone excited, but Im dying for HDTV lovin

Well, I don't think this really means anything, but the Best Buy ad in today's paper has an offer for Comcast HD. If you buy an HDTV, a Comcast starter kit (what the heck is that?), and sign up for HD digital cable then you can get $100 cash back.

These ads are typically put together weeks in advance, and the HD cable was supposed to be here already, so I doubt that this signifies that the service is imminent.

On another note, the ESPN HD truck will be at the Aurora Best Buy on 9/29.

Tim

Does anyone know if the upgrade project in the neighborhood of University and Dry Creek is completed yet? I would love to get HDTV and High Speed Internet.

Your lineup tells you whether you have been upgraded yet or not. If you can only get channels up to the mid 60s with analong cable, then you haven't been upgraded yet. If you can get channels up to the high 70s, then you have been upgraded.

9news just ran a story on HDTV and Comcast's new offering, I'll leave the channel 9 jokes to the tower thread. Anyhow they interviewed a guy getting it installed today. I just called and they should be here tomorrow morning. At first she said I'd have to wait to order tomorrow, then went and asked someone.

Just spoke to the "cable guy" working at a cabinet near my house. He stated they MUST be up and running by 01 Oct to avoid fines from the FCC.

The package will include high speed internet, digital cable, HDTV.

I live in Ken Caryl Valley, unincorporated Jefferson county.

Hey, thanks for the heads up ParTi. I just called Comcast and scheduled for tomorrow. I cannot wait to see HD on my TV. The CSR said she had been taking quite a few HD phone calls today and that the service would be free through the end of the year. As of January, it looks like a $5 per month add-on fee for HD to go along with the one time $15.99 service upgrade/set-up fee now.