Comcast HDTV - Page 393

Latest update i got from The Weather Channel's Local On The 8s Support about the HD Local Forecasts.

"Unfortunately, the Comcast rollout of HD locals continues to be stalled. No dates for implementation yet."

Comcast is stuck with systems loaded with old boxes and big mix of old cable plants.

Also where is big ten ALT's in HD.

Maybe comcast can at least put some of the part time stuff into a light SDV or say kill 4-5 VOD slots on Saturdays to fit in big ten alt hd, goal line HD ,pac 12 feeds and others.

What will they do if they get NFL ticket some day.

I believe Comcast will be going to an IP solution.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/542401/comcast-technology-topic/720#post_22458085

They'd do whatever they needed to do, including turning off channels like DirecTV used to do.

Maybe they are, but that article doesn't say anything about that. That STB will have to work with a QAM converter gateway.

I would assume until a complete transition to IP boxes Comcast would need to transmit both QAM and IP to the home.

Um, sure. But again, that article says nothing about a transition to IPTV.

I have been trying to get comcast to bury a cable in my front yard for the last 4-5 months. They have made multiple appointments, but they just don't show up, call or anything.

At one time there was someone from comcast that could get things done that monitored these forums. Is that person still out there?

Any other suggestions for getting this done? Unfortunately there are not a whole lot of options here for getting good internet service.

You need to email customer service notifying them of this issue. Then call customer service a few days later and ask them who's paying for your kids trip to the emergency room to fix the broken arm he received when he tripped over their exposed cable in your front yard. You know, the cable I've contacted you about multiple times and you still did nothing to rectify the situation.

You could try contacting We_Can_Help@cable.comcast.com - it's the address they give out on Twitter, etc and they seem very responsive to it.

 

I'd second that recommendation.  You should do it quick though since Comcast doesn't bury lines during the Winter.  Technically contractors do all the cable work though, not Comcast.

Thanks for the advice! I have sent an e-mail and I will see what happens!

[10/24/12 - 09:16 AM]
Comcast and The CW Network Bring The CW's Primetime Lineup to Xfinity On Demand

Effective tomorrow, customers can watch the four most-recent episodes from each CW series.

---

[via press release from The CW]
COMCAST AND THE CW NETWORK BRING THE CW'S PRIMETIME LINEUP TO XFINITY ON DEMAND

For the First Time Ever On Demand, Watch the Latest Episodes of The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, Supernatural and Other Popular Series

PHILADELPHIA and NEW YORK, Oct. 24, 2012 - Comcast and The CW Network announced today they have reached an agreement that brings The CW's popular primetime lineup to Xfinity On Demand. Effective tomorrow, Oct. 25, customers can watch the four most-recent episodes from each CW series - including their favorite CW programs the day after they air on live TV - on Xfinity On Demand at no additional charge. This agreement marks the first time The CW has made its shows available on Video On Demand (VOD) by a multi-service operator (MSO).

"Our customers turn to Xfinity On Demand for the latest and most popular programs, and now we're pleased to add The CW's popular primetime lineup to our offerings," said Matt Strauss, Senior Vice President, Comcast. "We're committed to giving customers access to the best and newest TV shows when they- want, at their fingertips."

John D. Maatta, Executive Vice President, The CW, said, "We're very excited to partner with Comcast to offer our viewers another platform where they can watch their favorite CW shows. With our primetime series now available on Xfinity On Demand, The CW will continue to expand its reach as well as provide our advertisers an opportunity to deliver their message to even more viewers."

Xfinity On Demand viewers will be able to catch The CW's top shows in both HD and SD. Series include The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, America's Next Top Model, Hart of Dixie, 90210, Arrow, Nikita, Beauty & the Beast, Emily Owens, M.D. and the final season of Gossip Girl.

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2012/10/24/comcast-and-the-cw-network-bring-the-cws-primetime-lineup-to-xfinity-on-demand-490204/20121024cw01/

And with the FF button disabled of course.

Why would the FF button be disabled? I've never seen that before. My 30 second skip doesn't work, but FF, RW, and the 5 minute skip all work with all the shows I've ever watched.

30 second skip can be hacked. It was discussed here in 2004 and it still works....

http://www.avsforum.com/t/464986/official-comcast-6412-w-iguide-discussion/60#post_4636291

Not for On Demand content it doesn't.

And why would you need skip for on-demand???

Because it has commercials.

Not only does it have commercials you can't FF thru but for some reason on some shows the video is completely window boxed and does not zoom (either full/wide or all directions) correctly.

Yes, you can't FF with ABC and FOX shows but is at their instance (nothing to do with Comcast). FF works just fine with the other networks (at least, in S Florida it does).

Hello all. I'm currently on a Digital Preferred plan (about $79) and a $49 internet service (labeled simply as "Internet Service" on my bill). I'm also paying two $1.15 charges for two cablecards. I want to downgrade my cable TV, and possibly upgrade my internet service, and am a bit unclear about the Digital Economy service. It's showing this as being a $29.95/month (for the first 12 months) option for me, with the Basic Cable service being $20.50/month (regular price). According to the Channel Lineup I can pull up, the Digital Economy service does not offer any HD channels - not even the local networks (e.g., NBC) whereas the cheaper Basic Cable service does. Is this: a) A mistake; or b) Something I can still add on via a $10/month HD upgrade?

FWIW, I have a Windows 7 computer w/Windows Media Center and a SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime (actually two) which use the cable cards. I was actually leaning towards just switching to the cheapest Basic Cable package, since I think I can live with just the major networks being DVRed and supplement that with my Netflix streaming subscription, Blu-ray rentals, and maybe an odd TV show purchase via iTunes (e.g., The Walking Dead). But if the Digital Economy package includes (or can include for $10 more) the HD channels, then I'd probably go that route. Of course, that assumes that I truly am eligible for this promotional rate - in the past when I've tried to take advantage of some of these promotions I was often told by the rep that I didn't qualify after all.

Hi,
I do have digital economy in HD plus HBO plus Internet. Paying $39 for digital economy in HD, $10 for HBO and $45 for Internet plus taxes. Just short under $100, that was my goal. I receive all channels in in my lineup in HD including local channels.
I have one cable card for Tivo and using original HD homerun for Windows Media center. Have also Netflix and Amazin Prime for streaming.

Hope this helps.

 

In my area Comcast offers a double play package they call "Blast Plus" for $79.95.  It comes with Blast! Internet and Digital Economy TV.

 

https://www.comcast.com/shop/buyflow2/customer/offers.cspx?&Inflow=1

 

There's a link that says "show lineup" and when I clicked on it, it showed that Digital Economy does include HD channels.  From what I understand, if you get the standard channel, you should get the HD channel, though Comcast charges a $10 "HD Technology Fee" for the privilege.

Well, looks like there will be some encryption changes coming to Cable provided basic tier service. The way I read it, QAM tuners on TVs may not be a viable option for basic tier service. You'll either have to have a STB or CableCARD. Here's the summary of a rule published in the Federal Register on 11/09/12:

"In this document, the Commission adopts new rules to allow cable operators to encrypt the basic service tier in all-digital systems, provided that those cable operators undertake certain consumer protection measures for a limited period of time in order to minimize any potential subscriber disruption."

The complete rule is at:

https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/11/09/2012-27350/basic-service-tier-encryption-compatibility-between-cable-systems-and-consumer-electronics-equipment

Yep, old news. Just a matter of time now before boxes will be required for anything and QAM tuners built into every HD set will be worthless. Cable got what they wanted - the ability to charge outlet fees for every TV and an easy way to reduce theft.

We got little from the FCC as usual - a free box and vague promises that cable will create some sort of IP standard for basic cable auth and delivery which could expire after a couple of years. This kind of stuff is what happens when FCC commissioners can leave their posts to become head of the NCTA or a corporate shill for Comcast.

Yup, guess that's what happens when there's a revolving door for that Eastern Power Elite between their role of Government "regulator" in Washington and captain of industry on Wall Street. The little guy? Fuhgehdaboudit.

Since this misinformation keeps getting posted on this thread, let me repeat it again. COMCAST on DEMAND HD section does not have every single movie shown on the premium channels. Showtime and Cinemax have a lot of older or indie movies or flat out B movies on their other channels. Also, if you have a DVR, you can record a movie and not be limited to when it expires in the On Demand section. Why can't they channel share a lot of the part time HD channels which run informercials all night?
FUSE doesn't really need to be in HD. I could zoom a regular FUSE letterboxed SD channel and get no worse quality on my TV.

Let's not forget that On Demand has poor fast forwarding and rewind capabilities and is cumbersome to use.

If COMCAST wants to reduce HD channels, they need to crack down on the many channels that fill a niche but then try to be a please all type channel to get more ratings but only serve to please the same audience as the other channels that were added to fill ther niches. If all those VH1 and MTV channels are not only showing reality shows, but also low rated old movies like they are the TBS of the 80s, then serve notice and threaten to delete the channels in their lineup that are low rated to teach them a lesson. Same with IFC. I would rather see their sister channel Sundance in HD than the crap that is shown on IFC these days.

Good luck with that - those crap channels are all there because of forced bundling agreements with the content providers.

Apparently they figured out a way to make a buck on it. What a surprise.

I agree 100% with your comments. Another thing that ticks me off - the tiering of channels. They know what the demographics are. If you watch History Ch and Discovery for example, you may also want to watch Science Channel, but they put them in different tiers so you have to spend more $$$. I refuse to to that.

Ala Carte programming is the way to go and I'll bet the switching and software technology exists to impliment it. Who knows, perhaps its already been deployed, just waiting for the day when Comcast will be forced to implement it. Then they will complain about the cost and pass it on to us when in reality its already there and their profit margin increases. I know they are in the business to make $$$, I have no gripe about the need to make profits. Its the manner in which they do it. Cable companies and internet service provisioning should be operated like public utilities or the phone company. Sure, you don't really "need" interent service, but try to get along without it today. Consider the telephone in the early 20th century and how it evolved over the century as a model for something that was not needed to an essential communications technology.

BTW, I hear that cable and satellite subscription rates have declined. Wonder why? The cost? Declining wages and the need for saving wages (read personal austerity programs)? Poor programming options? More interest in internet versus TV? I wonder.

Oh yeah, don't think the content providers get off scott free. We were watching the History Ch 4 part series "The Men who built America" using Comcast VOD. This compressed each 2 hour program into 90 min. It was a good series but had this annoying characteristic that I see a lot these days. When the original program commercial breaks came (you could see where they were), inevitably after that they start with a little "reminder" such as: "It was 1866, the nation had just gone through a bloody war ...". Or, we'd see the same scenes with a few new words. Come on, do they think we are idiots with an attention span of a gnat? Its either the little "reminders" or the "coming up on our next segment" teasers (HGTV is really bad about this) that drive me nuts. So of the 90 minute program even compressed by VOD, I'd say there was really about an hour or hour and 15 minutes of original programming per episode. Sad. Compare this with Ken Burn's 4 hour PBS series The Dust Bowl (nearly all was original programming). I would be more than happy to pay for quality programming - I know productions cost money, but I doubt that will ever happen. Its all about selling advertising for the cable companies and content providers.



Rant off. Ahhhh, I feel better now.