Portland, OR - Comcast - Page 148

Hey out there--

Wish I had discovered this thread sooner! About 2 weeks before Christmas, it suddenly seemed to me that I had to turn the volume up a lot louder on KGW than before. Although maybe the volume on all the channels has decreased, KGW is the worst--I have to turn the TV up almost twice as loud as the other channels to get an equal volume. (I've checked the volume on the Motorola HD/DVR box itself, and it is at its max.) Has anyone else noticed this?

Second issue--the popping sound on KOIN when they rejoin the network feed from a local station break. It's been posted about in this forum before:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=4266

I've e-mailed their engineering department and not gotten the courtesy of a reply. Anybody know if there will ever be a fix of this?

Yes, KGW is the quietest of the locals.

To me it's no big deal. That's because I listen to a number of satellite channels in addition to these locals. I wind up adjusting my receiver anywhere between -45 dB to -60 dB to get comfortable volume. That's an enormous range. And of course commercials are inevitably louder than programs.

There has been some discussion about this, but I don't think anything has actually been done.

Here you go:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...s#post17015625

KOIN is the worst regarding audio pops on transitions from SD comercials inserted into their HD channel .... but it happens to some degree on all the networks.

Also, KOIN's SD channel also seems to have random sudden audio drop-outs on a fairly regular basis. I just change channels to other programming when these audio glitches become too annoying.

FTR, Verizon now has Comcast Sports Northwest in HD, channel 577.

Hey Everyone-

I am looking into getting a Moxi box or a Tivo. I wanted to verify that Comcast here in the Portland is not using Tuning Adapter. I am pretty sure they are not due to the bandwidth being freed up with the 'World of More', but wanted to verify.
Thanks!

No tuning adapter needed in Tualatin.

Are you talking about those DTAs (that they give you 2 for free) like we need in Portland and Beaverton?

This terminology is very confusing, especially since there aren't always "standard" names for it.

Comcast calls their analog reclamation project "The World of More". A brief quote from that PR:

The channel additions are made possible by a digital migration called "The World of More" that Comcast began earlier this year. Under the initiative, Comcast began offering digital upgrades to Standard Cable customers to migrate from analog to digital, and converting channels 31 and above to a digitally delivered format. Comcast's digital upgrade reclaimed analog bandwidth to allow the company to provide more products and services to customers, such as faster Internet speeds, more channels and more ON DEMAND content. By doing that, Comcast has eliminated the need for switched digital video as a method of delivering HD to users.

A TiVo HD can't implement SDV directly, it needs an external unit sometimes called a "tuning adapter". Such units have proved to be problematic in various deployments. Fortunately they're not needed here.

So are you saying that because we need to use the DTA units here in Portland and Beaverton, a TIVO here would require a tuning adapter?

How many channels in Tualatin can you still get when directly connected to a television w/o any STB?

If you could receive the digital channels with your Tivo before Comcast made the switch and handed out DTAs, you can still receive them. However, if Comcast had gone to Switched Digital Video, Tivo users would have been out of luck and would have needed a special tuning adapter.

I don't have a TIVO yet .... before the switch we could get channels 2-71 w/o a STB. After the switch, we can can only get channels 2-31 and need DTAs to get everything else.

Does that mean that if I get a TIVO I'll need a tuning adapter for it? Are the newset TIVO units cable card capable? Thanks for the info.

I don't have a Tivo either. But in Portland, you shouldn't need a tuning adapter because Portland isn't using switched digital. And, yes, I believe Tivos require cable cards.

No, you don't need a Tuning Adapter. Tuning Adapters are ONLY needed for 3rd party DVRs in areas where the cable company has converted to Switched Digital Videos (SDV). Portland has not converted to SDV.

A TiVo just needs a cable card. Yes, the newest TiVo, the Premiere, uses a cable card. Unlike earlier models, it only has 1 cable card slot, so if you get one, you need to make sure Comcast give you a Multistream Cable Card (M-Card).

With an M-Card installed, a TiVo can tune to any channel that the HD DVR supplied by Comcast can tune to. You can't however access Video on Demand (VoD) and you can't directly access Pay per View (PPV). You can still watch PPV on a TiVo. You just have to order a PPV program over the phone. Once you order and pay for the PPV program, you tune to a particular channel on your TiVo where the PPV program will start playing.

And yes, I do own a TiVo. A TiVo HD. I've pre-ordered a TiVo Premiere XL to replace it, which should arrive by the end of next week.

Don't confuse a DTA (Digital Transport Adapter) with a tuning adapter. People who want to watch ESPN and don't use a DVR or an STB need a DTA to decrypt the signal. Nobody (locally) needs a tuning adapter. CableCARDs perform the same decryption function that a DTA or cable company STB performs.


Funny you should ask that question. I just happened to set up a TiVo HD recently and so I have the answer at hand. I will qualify my answer to say "w/o any STB" also means "w/o any CableCARDs". I.e. raw coax plugged into a TV or a TiVo HD. If you go to this website you can see the available "clear QAM" channels for many locations. Be sure to set the "drop down" at the top of the screen to "Comcast Cable" instead of "Digital Antenna".

The list I acquired through manual tuning roughly matches what's at the above URL. In summary it consists of:

• analog versions of the local OTA HD channels. E.g. channel 2 no longer broadcasts OTA, but Comcast converts the digital signal and puts it onto analog cable channel 2.

• local OTA HD channels. These now use "virtual" channels that may no longer correspond in frequency to their old analog frequencies. Some of these appear adjacent to the analogs. E.g. HD channel 2 appears as 2-1 and 2-2. But Comcast converts virtual channel 49 to analog channel 13. So digital channel 49-1 appears discontiguous in the channel list.

• local BS stations such as city council meetings

• national BS channels such as Shop NBC that pay Comcast to be there

For your convenience I've attached a (probably out of date) list of limited basic channels. Everything else is encrypted; you will need a CableCARD, DTA, or STB to view everything else.

In conclusion, I get anything that's in the "limited basic" service from Comcast. That includes all local HD OTA channels, but that fact isn't obvious when you consult Comcast's channel lineup. Also don't be confused by the "requires digital set top receiver" in Comcast's list. That's not really true. Your QAM capable TV can function as a receiver, since those channels (e.g. Shop NBC) are not encrypted. They, however, are only digital, which means an old TV that doesn't have a QAM tuner won't be able to receive them directly.

user pastiche updates a handy list of the unencrypted QAM channels for the Seattle/Tacoma comcast market. I've created a similar list for the Portland/Salem comcast market. I get my info from Vancouver, WA so the PEG (Public, Education, Governement) channels are for that area. Other areas will have different PEG channels. If you want to send me the PEG channels you are receiving, I will update the list.

 

pdx cable.pdf 113.626953125k . file

According to the message on my DVR, we will be getting the new iGuide on Tuesday the 13th. They said it may take a two or three days to fully repopulate the guide.

From what I can recall from other threads, that means we'll have folders. Can't remember what else is included, but changes may also happen in queueing up commands (it won't happen any more) and some Tivo-like auto-rewinding after fast-forwarding.

Thanks .... BTW, What does the column heading PSIP stand for on the left side of the list?

Those are the channel locations I generally use to tune the HDTV directly to OTA local channels (like 2, 2-1, 6, 6-1 etc .... both SD and HD) if I desire to watch a 3rd channel while simultaneously recording two different channels with the DVR. I have a 2-way splitter and cable is connected directly to both the DVR and the HDTV.

I believe we will also be getting remote dvr scheduling, which I think is kinda cool.
http://www.fancast.com/mydvr

I have heard that there have been issues with the A28 iguide update, various small bugs. Also the guide is cut down from two weeks worth of information to 10 days.

http://www.comcast.net/newguide/

That website has all the features that will be included in the Upgrade.

This list is for the specific situation where you are using a ATSC QAM tuner without the ability to decrypted the scrambled channels. Specifically, this means that you are NOT using a cable card, Comcast DTA or digital cable box.

QAM is the physical channel that the cable channel is transmitted on. If there is no PSIP "remapping" going on, that's the channel you tune to to watch a show. For example, QVC is transmitted on physical channel 18.210 and since there is no PSIP "remapping", that's the channel you tune to to watch QVC.

PSIP (Program and System Information Protocol) is the virtual channel that the cable channel is remapped to. Assuming that there is PSIP "remapping" going on, that's the channel that you tune to to watch a show. For example, KATU HD is transmitted on physical channel 91.2 (QAM) but is remapped to virtual channel 2.1 (PSIP). So, 2.1 is the channel that you tune to to watch KATU HD. In most cases where Comcast has included the PSIP information, it is very similar to the "Over The Air" PSIP information of a broadcast channel.

OTA "Over The Air" is the physical channel that that same show is broadcast over the air. For instance, KATU HD is broadcast over the air on physical channel 43.3 (OTA). This information is no real value unless you are using a ATSC over the air tuner.

Comcast is the digital channel that you would tune to if you were using a Comcast digital cable box. For instance, KATU HD is on Comcast digital channel 702.

If the Comcast channel has a box around it, that means that the channel is also the same analog cable channel. For instance KATU SD is on Comcast digital channel 2 and Comcast analog channel 2.

In cases where the PSIP information "should be" included but isn't, I've surrounded the PSIP information with a grey box. For instance, KOPB SD should be remapped to virtual channel 10.2 but isn't for some reason.

I also spotted that KXPD "Azteca America" channel 317 isn't being broadcast anymore and I'll removed that on the next version of the list.

zyland .... thanks very much for the detailed explanation.

Has anyone gotten the mydvr stuff to work in the Portland/Tigard area?

I tried registering but the myDVR icon doesn't ever show up in the fancast TV listings as the New Features page shows.

When I try and registered I get the message "myDVR Manager is coming soon to your neighborhood. Be sure to check your @comcast.net Inbox for amyDVR Manager Invitation once it's online in your area!"

So hopefully it will be available soon.

It looks like the MyDVR function is now available in Portland. At least, I was able to log in and it claimed to be syncing with my DVR. It claims to take up to 24 hours to sync, which is possibly why the online app thinks my DVR doesn't have anything scheduled now. I tried to schedule a program in advance to see what will happen, but it claims to need at least a half hour lead time. We'll see.

To find the MyDVR service, go to Comcast.net and search for MyDVR. It also claims to require Internet Explorer. (I tried Safari and had trouble. Switching to IE seemed to work).

I use the word "claim" a lot, I know. But I have no proof this is actually working yet.

I know now that the MyDVR feature is syncing with my DVR because I can see the series recordings from the web app. I also successfully set up a recording online and it's recording now.

Very cool - will have to try it out.

It appears that there is now a West Coast feed at least both TBS-HD and TNT-HD. The programming now matches the SD versions on the channels. Previously the HD channels were the East Coast feeds.
The only problem is that the program guide for the HD channels still shows the East Coast schedule. Hopefully that will be fixed soon. I am guessing some of the other Turner HD channels might have switched to a west coast feed, but haven't identified any others.

The switch to West Coast feeds on these channels really screwed me up! I have a TiVo and last week, TiVo sent me a service update for those channels, switching the guide data to West Coast. However, the channels themselves were still East Coast. I didn't know Comcast were going to switch the feeds so I reported the incorrect guide data to TiVo. TiVo, of course, dutifully switched my guide data back to East Coast and then the damned feeds go and change to West Coast!!

It would be nice if Comcast would sent out an e-mail to their customers if they are going to change channel feeds!

they did send out notice in your bill for that change

this one showed up on my june bill
"KGW 24/7 will be available with Digital Limited Basic, on channel 308, effective August 2, 2010."

I used myDVR online to schedule a recording of the NBA Final while at work Wednesday (the Final was on Thursday).

I was slightly piqued to discover Thursday night that myDVR had instead set FRIDAY night news ABC to record, instead.

So be careful out there...