Boston, MA - Comcast - Page 53

Tonight is the Celtics first home game of the season (exhibition vs. Knicks). Apparently, Celtic home games will be shown in HD on CSN (formerly FSN). At this point, it looks like Comcast will use Channel 881 in the Boston area for the HD broadcast, pre-empting Mojo.

Mickey

There isn't anything functionally different between the 3412 and the 3416 other than the 40GB of extra HD space. Seeing as it doesn't cost anymore to rent you'd want to have the later over the former. I keep trying to get a hold of the 3416 at my local office but they're never in-stock.

FYI: According to the Recorders forum the TiVo upgrade is now coming mid Nov. When I see it, I'll believe it...

USAHD, 835
HISTHD, 858

So it doesn't look like the celtics pregame is in HD tonight......I just noticed the post above about CSN (FSN) using MOJO......Also, the NBA needs to get all games in HD, home and away just like baseball has done.

Just out of curiosity, is anyone seeing this preseason game in HD? I'm a former ComCaster now on FIOS. We have a dedicated CSN channel with nothing on it for the most part and tonight is no exception. The SD CSN channel has the game. It's pretty bizarre seeing the Comcast logo on a Verizon cable network!

I talked to Comcast about not having the Celtics in HD and got a very understanding person. He said there were no plans for HD coverage, although he probably could not say if there were plans. He suggested that if enough people complained, it might help. Not sure if it will help, but you may want to call them to complain about this. Very disappointing that Comcast elects to not have Comcast Sports Network on HD. Hopefully they will get this on HD before the season really gets started. Major step forward for the team, major step backward for Comcast coverage.

The New England Comcast Sports Net website says that the Celtics home games will be broadcast on 881 in HD. So, it seems like maybe they just are not doing it for the tonight or for the pre-season. Seems like the pleasant person I talked to at Comcast may have been wrong.

It would be idiotic for Comcast not to carry a full-time CSNE HD channel. I would expect this to come in time for the first regular season game.

Agree. If there was a season that should have a full-time HD feed, this is it.

Or at least have a HD channel that contains HD home games and SD away games. That way we don't have to do channel flipping to find out how the game is being broadcast.

Sorry. It looks like I gave Comcast and their little amateur station too much credit to be able to pull this off.

Mickey

What would be the purpose of having a full time HD station if only the pregame, postgame and the game itself is in HD? Then what do you do with the rest of the time? We already know that Comcast would need to move another analog station to digital only in order add another HD station. USA and History HD are being added (as someone mentioned above) so that takes care of the C-Span 2 move. Unless C-Span one moves, I do not see any more HD station until 2/2009. Interupting 881 is fine for me just as long as it does not cut over right after the game like it did all last season. That was just plain annoying.

I agree that the pathetic amount of HD material that CSN will be generating doesn't seem to qualify as full-time. But Comcast already has a number of channels broadcasting HD part-time (in fact, almost all of them). Others here have already posted recommended lists of seldom watched Analog channels that should be moved to Digital to free up the needed bandwidth, if that in fact is the real reason. In any event, none of this seems to be a priority for Comcast, including CSN.

Mickey

The recommended list of analog channels can boil down to one man's trash is another man's treasure. I never watched Lifetime but my girlfriend would scream bloody murder if it went from analog to digital (she only has cable direct). Certain channel ownership demands and "keeping up with the Joneses" mentality has kept the pressure on Comcast to offer certain HD channels (almost all of them). A full time CSN channel would be wonderful but it would have to build up its programming like NESN did to merit a full time channel slot.

Not sure that technological advances fall into the keeping up with the Joneses mentality. In 20 years the big box tv's we grew up with, with the less than lifelike detail will be old fashioned. such is the way of our techno progress.

I believe they have College Football on the weekends too. Between this and NBA, it would definitely warrant a full-time channel. It would obviously also pave the way for more programming to be converted to HD.

Is it just me, or is anyone else really disappointed in the HD quality of FOX MLB broadcasts?

Sometimes it looks like everyone is slightly pixelated. TBS looked stunning compared to this.

Yep - it's always been miserable. At least they go to their "poor man's HD" for the LCS. During the regular season they broadcast in widescreen SD when they pick up a game for national broadcast!

QAM tuner doesn't look too bad.

Basically, if TBS was not carrying the baseball playoffs, then Comcast would not have needed to carry that and CNN-HD. That was my point which I base on the actual amount of HD programming carried. The only reason Comcast started carrying Universal HD was due to the Olympics. My issue with the rush to fill up a channel line up with HD channels is most of these channels are not even broadcasting HD programming 25% of the time. When CNN-HD launched, we talked on this thread about where is the HD programming. Now that playoffs are going to only be on Fox, the same question can be asked TBS-HD. I would prefer more full time HD channels like HDNet and HDNet Movies. But since Comcast has to match Verizon and D* almost channel for channel, we end up with TBS and CNN.

Why in the world is WSBK (Ch 838) in HD? To me, that's a waste of HD space that would be better off being used on something else... Interesting that ESPNews will be in HD in March and Travel Channel HD should be available soon. Wonder what other analog stations will drop then to make space...

There was a report in the new channel thread that Houston is getting USA HD and History Channel HD within the next week.

http://consumerblog.abc13.com/2007/1...s-to-comc.html

I imagine the Boston/NH area will get those channels too...we are almost always first on new HD channels.

Here on the South Shore we have Versus on two analog channels, both 40 and 65. What's the reason for this? This seems to be a complete waste of bandwidth, so why not eliminate one of them?

WSBK is owned by CBS, so perhaps WBZ and WSBK are part of the same retransmission permission contract.

When WSBK HD was added they were still a UPN station and had some prime time HD programming. They still have some HD sports occasionally and I believe I saw HD Jeopardy on there the other night.

My friend apparently found that:


in Arlington MA - Comcast


Thank you.

Some one did mention two pages back that USA HD and History HD were being added when C-Span 2 analog feed is dropped.

When you think about it, we only have 3 full ( 24/7) HD channels. PBS, Discovery. Mojo. All other channels still show some programming in SD and some should not even be considered HD because most of their broadcast is upconverted ( TNT, TBS, A&E and so on). I know this is still considered an early stage in the HD era, never less it is still extremely frustrating to see whats on your new expensive HDTV as you flip thru the channels. Hence the reason I bought a HD DVD player!

Isn't UniversalHD full time HD?

Yup.

The schedule of Celtics games in HD on 881 is now posted on the Comcast Sports Net website. It looks like all the regular season home games, except 2 games on TNT national TV, will be on 881. The only pre-season game left at the Garden (Cleveland next Friday) is on ESPN, so it does not look like it will be in HD on 881.

http://newengland.comcastsportsnet.com/fsnhd.jsp