Boston, MA - Comcast - Page 7

...And reluctantly, they only offer CableCard because it is mandated by law.

I get a blank screen when I push the "My DVR" button, but if I press "OK" I then get to the listing of recordings as normal.

Same here.

I was having the same issues mentioned above with the "My DVR" menu not showing anything, but things seemed to have corrected themselves since mine was back to normal as of this morning.

same issue with mine last night, I re-booted the DVR (unplugged for 30 sec) and it went back to normal

On another note...anyone else notice a lip synch issue with HD-CBS? It was bad for me last night during CSI NY and the program that preceeded it as well. all other channels seems fine to me...CBS was way off though

I have had problems as well. A rebooting seemed to do the trick. In my case,I left the box unplugged (but still connected to the cable system) for 90 minutes.

Thank goodness for CableCard, glad I haven't had to deal with all of these stupid cable box issues as of late. What does it take for a company to develop a well-designed cable box???

A lot more money.

I liked the cablecard, in fact I thought it had the best PQ of all the devices. But with no recording capability I felt it was a major drawback and ended up going with the DVR and have been quite satisfied since. Yes they have issues but unless it's a total crash, their really quite minor and I can easily deal with it's few shortcomings.

Me as well, the PQ is great.

I'm certain that if you called and asked you'd then be informed.

All a cable company can do is identify whether or not they support a settop box. If they do and you legally own the box then they are required to support it.

The DCP 501 is the only one that can be authorized. The reason why no other boxes can be authorized are because they are stolen. The DCP-501 is the only box sold to consumers.

I agree. Just got a 3416 and enjoy the ease of recording and play back. Plus, I kept the cablecard and normally use it, as the picture does seem better.

Sorry, but that's totally untrue. The only thing they're legally obligated to support is equipment they themselves provide, including CableCards for use in other consumer electronics.

Thanks for the clarification. That makes sense.

When I first got my TV I made a direct connection from the wall and I was able to map some channels that I don't get w/cable card. One in particular is CH 38 HD which is now a non issue but was when the Red Sox was on 38. Another is a channel called The Tube; never heard of it before but pretty cool if you like music; 24/7 with no commercials. If these are sent unencrypted why can't Comcast authorize the CC or STB to pick them up?

WSBK HD is mapped to channel 838 on CableCards and STB's.
WLVI The Tube is mapped to channel 296.

That is not the case here in Easton (Bristol County). Those channels do not map with CC.

The only thing I can think of is Bristol County is considered part of the Providence TV market and Comcast isn't obligated to pass along these 2 channels. But the fact that they are in the clear without a box or CableCard definitely confuses me.
Does anyone else have any ideas for Contsi?

I know when the sox was on 38 this was an issue here in BC but does anyone know if it was in the clear and are these coming from a different Comcast transmission station.

I'm not here to challenge, merely to inform. I will challenge if prompted, so, your lesser informed opinion is wrong - and I stress lesser informed. Furthermore, I never stated anything with regard to legal obligation. If one were to purchase a DCP-501, presently CC will add it to their billing system at your request, tag it as purchased equipment (not rented) and address it with the tier of services to which you subscribe. Once they drop support for their DCT-2000 platform the device would then no longer work. If you'd like to learn more about cable systems feel free to pm me. I'd be happy to answer any questions which I am able to answer.

Must Carry rules and DMA compliance dictate whether MSO's can transmit certain broadcaster signals in specific areas. Consider the following: In Massachusetts, WCVB5 ABC is the primary Boston ABC affiliate, whereas WMUR9 ABC is the New Hampshire ABC affiliate. Both are carried in many areas of each state. Although both are considered to be located within the same DMA there is no contest of DMA visibility as both stations are owned by Hearst-Argyle, or at least this is what I believe to be the basis for why both are available in some areas despite the fact that they are two independant broadcasts of ABC originated content. On the other hand, in Rhode Island WLNE6 ABC is owned by Freedom Communications and therefore WLNE would want to preserve rights of market to ensure their advertising purchasers get the visibility WLNE would claim to provide for their advertisements. If WCVB5 ABC were to be transmitted by an MSO in Rhode Island there would be 1) Violation of DMA rules and 2) a basis for contest on behalf of WLNE to claim that the MSO was violating DMA rules. If there were no ABC broadcaster in Rhode Island I believe the cable MSO could transmit that particular broadcaster without violation. Ultimately, the MSO must configure their transmission system in accordance with Must Carry and DMA rules.

We're talking past each other. You're talking about "what would work" connected to their system, and I'm talking about what their legal obligations are with regard to supporting equipment other than what they themselves provide you. I'll grant that you know more about the hardcore technical details of what works connected to what, but not the legal side of things.

Thanks for the explanation; but my original quetion (post # 197) was, if I can plug the cable directly into the TV and receive a particular channel, why is the cable card not authorized to receive it?

I live in briatol County too, do not get SBK-HD or The Tube with 5100 HD Box or the Moto SD box on other sets. If I can get WLVI-HD in Bristol County , why is Tube, subchannel of WLVI not alivable? Also, when will A&E -HD be here in Boston area? Other Comcast systems have it now.Comcast, move a few analog channels to digital to open up band width...

I think the bandwidth is available on my system in here Burlington, but we don't have A&E HD yet because --- because we don't. They haven't published a promised schedule date for adding that channel to all systems.

Looking at their channel lineup, TubeTV is part of Basic Broadcast tier and therefore a digital settop box should be able to receive that program at even its most basic level of authorization, similarly with a CC. If you are not receiving the channel on your digital settop box or CC I would call and ask why. "The program is available via the air and you carry it in your transmission, why isn't it on my settop's digital basic tier?" You might find that the reality is that they are not required to "Must Carry" local digital channels and can therefore tier the service in with something else such as music, although if that were the case then that is a contradiction to what their lineup indicates. Nonetheless, I am pretty certain an MSO is not supposed to encrypt local broadcast channels and complying with that type of condition would be supportive of why you see the channel cable direct.

This would likely be based on bandwidth availability or should I say, the lack thereof. Not required to carry - no available bandwidth for the channel - program not carried.

Hello Everyone,
I currently live in central Massachusetts and decided to make a switch from DTV to Comcast .
Ok well at first I was very happy with Direct tv, but after 400.00 worth of equip was purchased in early FEB 2006 ( I got my firsy HDTV) and had it installed from DTV the issues began. I found out that the 3 LMB dish and HD reciever they sold me was now obsoloete a month later as it was MPEG 2 and they now need MPEG 4. I called and asked why my locals were not in HD and they replied i needed to upgrade to 5LMB which was 129.00 for the install and the dish would cost extra, and the equiptment was 600-800 JUST TO LEASE IT for an HD DVR. Next I have had terrible service with the VERIZON DSL, at least 3 times a week i have to recycle the modem and re enter my modem info and I was paying for 3.0/386 only to realize after a tech test its only getting 1.5/355 so that made me very unhappy as well. The last part is that the Verizon phone bill has been higher and higher for some reason. So out of frustration of previous services (at first called about internet only) They sold me on a new HD DVR bundle which sounded awesome, for me anyway.
This is the deal i am getting
DSL 8mg/386 or 786 (forgot that one)
HD DVR with EVERY CHANNEL they offer, ALL premiums
Phones
all for 167.00 with a 1 year price guarantee NO contracts at all but guaranteed for 1 FULL year

Now here is where you guys that have it come in, maybe you have had DTV and could compare.
1. HOW IS THE COMCAST HDTV picture quality
2.The rep said the locals are all in HDTV all day long, yet I read some post that say its each channel so whats the answer.
3.Are the non HDTV channels pixleated? and does it look decent? or close to satellite and is it in 480p? I had direct tv and they have 480p channels and some are bad but overall it was decent.
4.Are the channels now 5.1? I had comcast a few years back before i swithed and they didnt offer 5.1
5.Does it support HDMI output? and if so does it make a better image that component?
Thats all i got for now and i apprieciate the help, you guys seem to know your stuff.