Detroit, MI - HDTV - Page 276

anyone?

Last time I checked, the number was around 85% of households receiving TV via cable or DBS. I guarantee that number hasn't dropped significantly.

You can't sell nearly as many commercials in a 60-minute newscast. And there's nothing else you can put on at that time that will post anywhere close to the number of eyes local newscasts get or have the same number of local avails.

As for it being strictly local, well, why? If there's an earthquake in Seattle, they'd lose all credibility if they ignored it. And those offbeat stories and entertainment pieces drive water-cooler talk, which brings in more eyes. Trust me, there's a lot of research that goes into local newscasts.. especially in such a competitive environment as Detroit TV.

I'm thinking of making the switch to Comcast here in Canton and I have a few questions...

First off how many HD Channels does Canton get? I see many posts talk about 100HD channels. Is Canton part of that?

Also what HD DVR will I most likely get? Also can I manually set the start and stop times to record at show (ie start recording at 8:59 and stop at 10:02) so I don't miss any programming?

Thanks,

-Leland

Yes, Canton is an area that now has 100 HD channels. Here is the Canton Lineup: http://www.comcast.com/MediaLibrary/...nPN_Lineup.pdf

Everything listed as Coming Soon has already been added.


Either a DCH 3416 or DCX3400. There are a few DCT3416/6416 still out there but those are rare.


Yes, you can set programs to start early or end late or do a manual recording based solely on times.

Thank you for posting that. I noticed on the channel guide you linked to it had a lot of "coming soon" under the HD channels. Hopefully they roll those out quickly

How is the HD channel quality around Canton? Is the internet rock solid?

Thanks,

-Leland

They're already there:

Can I record (1) HD program while watching another HD program with the Comcast DVR's they offer? I'm sure you can but I just want to make sure before I make the jump.

-Leland

Yes, you can do that.

Does the HD DVR (and set top box) that Comcast gives you display the output in both 720P and 1080i? For instance If I'm watching Fox my current box will say 720P and when I switch to CBS my box switches to 1080i. I currently have a Scientific Atlanta box with another provider. I had Uverse for awhile and it always said it was outputting 1080i...

Thanks,

-Leland

You must choose a single format for all HD output, either 720p or 1080i.

For the older DCT boxes to change it, you must power the box off, go into a user menu, select the format, power the box on again.

For the new boxes, you can change HD format on the fly manually with a button on the remote or front of unit.

You can select to output SD channels in 480i, 480p, or upconverted to the HD output and/or stretched to fill the 16:9 screen area, if you so desire.

Having said that, your HDTV (most likely a fixed pixel device) only displays in one HD format, so a format conversion must take place somewhere along the line, either in the cable box or in the HDTV. At that point you must actually try the settings in all the different possibilities before knowing which will look best. So, having a box that does not output natively is not necessary a bad thing.

Right now, the Plymouth / Canton / Northville Comcast areas have 101 HD channels. Of those 1 is HD PPV, 25 are premium (HBO, MAX, SHO, Starz, TMC).


HD quality is very good, better than WOW, U-Verse and Dish, on par with DirecTV. Internet reliability is rock solid, for me.

So it really doesn't matter that my box says it's outputting 720P or 1080i then? I guess the TV is doing the scaling?

What format are most here selecting for their HD output? 720 or 1080?

Also does anyone know for sure what internet speeds comcast offers in MI? I've seen several different numbers thrown around...

-Leland

Do you have an up to date PDFs for the different Lansing Head-ends/Nodes?

PM me if needed so we can chat.

True, there are a lot of people right now who are cutting back out of necessity. I know several that have gone to OTA only to save money. However, that's likely not a permanent situation. It's a temporary sacrifice people are making so they have money to pay for more important things.

There's also the topic of free programming via the internet to consider. I now spend almost as much time watching streams on sites like hulu, youtube and network maintained sites (msnbc.com, cbs.com, etc.) as I do watching actual TV. I have a friend that got rid of his cable, but not his internet connection. He now exclusively watches TV programming through the internet.

The bottom line, IMO, is that OTA's long term prospects are to serve only a limited market. Despite the digital conversion, OTA is not going back to its glory days. I think the majority of the population agree that services like cable and DBS are superior because of their vastly greater variety, and the people who stick with the OTA route either do it to augment their subscription service (for better picture quality, or to add locals when they don't get them via DBS) or they do it because of financial reasons. The final group are those who don't watch enough TV (or care about what they watch)to want to pay for it.


The latest estimates I have seen agree with your numbers. The range is approximated to be between 12% and 18.9% depending on who has done the estimating. So 15% OTA is a good guess. Backup here

There are also between 1 and 3% of homes that don't have a TV at all. An estimated 56% of homes subscribe to cable, making it the largest way in which people receive their TV programming.

The DCX series of HD DVR has native pass through.

http://www.comcast.com/michigan/

It depends. What is your HDTV resolution?


All sorts of options, from Economy 1Mbps up / 384 down, to Blast 20Mbps up / 4Mbps down.

And, DOCSIS 3.0 is coming in the near future, which will offer:
* Performance (6 Mbps download/1 Mbps upload) subscribers will be increased to Performance (12 Mbps download/2 Mbps upload)
* Performance Plus (8 Mbps download/2 Mbps upload) subscribers will be increased to Blast! (16 Mbps download/2 Mbps upload)
* New Ultra (22 Mbps download/5 Mbps upload) tier will be added as an upgrade option for Comcast High-Speed Internet subscribers.
* New Extreme 50 (50 Mbps download/10 Mbps upload) tier will be addeds as an upgrade option for Comcast High-Speed Internet subscribers

If your TV is 1080p, select 1080i. If your TV is 720p, select 720p.

Current Options are:

• Economy 1/384
• Performance 6/1
• Performance Plus 8/2
• Blast 16/2

Powerboost is available on all speeds except for Economy.

Have a the coming soon been added in Lansing?

As far as Brooklyn goes, we're on the same Lansing system here, none have been added in a long time. Even the ones that claim they are added don't show up, like 259 NHLHD. That channel has been in the guide for about 2months and still doesn't come in. No timeline has been given as far as I know for any new HD's in the Lansing system.

Whats happens when you go to 259? What does it say on the screen?

I don't know of anyone in Macomb that gets Toledo.

And the picture on our Sony XBR is fabulous!!

Comcast started turning off analog channels in our area today.

How soon does Comcast start adding more HD once they start the transition.

Thanks

Pete

Should be pretty much the same time.

Usually 7 to 10 days after analog is gone.

Not Authorized, for ordering information press info...

Stuck watching hockey in SD on 737. Trying to figure out when it'll be added by Comcast has been useless.

Does anyone know a good rooftop antenna contractor in the Metro Detroit area, preferably Dearborn/Downriver.

I have an antenna on the top of my house, that still seems to work, but the wiring is all screwed up and would like to hire a contractor to re-wire it, split it, and hook it up to both of my HD TV's.

I all ready have Comcast, but I would really like to see what other HD channels (toledo?) I would be able to pick up with this huge antenna that is all ready on top of my house.

Thanks for your help.