Hi All. Not sure if this is the right section, so I apologize if it's not. I am currently a Directv customer, and my contract is up in a couple weeks. I have internet through Comcast, and and HD DVR, HD receiver, and standard receiver through DTV. I just ordered Comcast for TV with the intent of cancelling DTV and having everything under one roof, and it saved me about $40 per month. After getting Comcast installed, I hate the guide and channel organization, to the point that I'm thinking of sticking with DTV. I'm very price conscious though. I called DTV recently, and they said I had a $10 per month credit that will end in a month and they can't make any changes to my pricing since then. I don't know that I want to stay with Comcast because the system and HD/DVR is so archaic, but I don't want to give up the deal with Comcast and risk that DTV won't reduce pricing at all. Any suggestions or thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Contract up, what to do?
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I was leaning that way too but then realized that with Comcast all my local channels are SD and not HD like they were with DTV, and since I like watching golf and football which are on local channels, I don't think I'll stick with Comcast. I know they can send out an A/B switcher but that isn't how I want to do it. OTA signal isn't that great here either so just using HD antenna isn't as good of an option. Might check into Dish, otherwise I think I'll cancel some stuff with DTV and stick with them.
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Unless you live in Guam, HD locals are part of your subscription with Comcast.
And FWIW.... "DTV" is the reference for Digital TV (OTA). D* is the typical reference for DirecTV.
Now for the $64,000 question... do you rent an HD capable cable box or are you just using a DTA (which does not support HD)?
Huh?
Unless you live in Guam, HD locals are part of your subscription with Comcast.
And FWIW.... "DTV" is the reference for Digital TV (OTA). D* is the typical reference for DirecTV.
Now for the $64,000 question... do you rent an HD capable cable box or are you just using a DTA (which does not support HD)?
I rent a box from Comcast. Apparently in Michigan, local channels are not available in HD through the box I have? Not sure exactly. What I've heard is the solution is they will send you an A/B switch so that you can get the locals in HD but then you're running through 2 separate inputs which seems like a pain. I'm sure there are workarounds but D* already works so I don't want to worry about it
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It sounds like you have a DTA box and not a full-on HD Comcast box. The reason for the A/B switch is that you're getting the HD channel signal (it's available everywhere in the US and must be put through the cable by law), but the DTA box is "dumbing it down" to SD. The switch would allow your TV to use its own QAM tuner to get HD channels (a few of them, but definitely the locals.)
You could rent a proper HD box from Comcast and get every HD channel on whatever your TV portion allows. That would probably be easiest if you want the lower bill. Otherwise, just go back to D*.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilditty /t/1418299/contract-up-what-to-do#post_22183017
I rent a box from Comcast. Apparently in Michigan, local channels are not available in HD through the box I have? Not sure exactly. What I've heard is the solution is they will send you an A/B switch so that you can get the locals in HD but then you're running through 2 separate inputs which seems like a pain. I'm sure there are workarounds but D* already works so I don't want to worry about it![]()
It sounds like you have a DTA box and not a full-on HD Comcast box. The reason for the A/B switch is that you're getting the HD channel signal (it's available everywhere in the US and must be put through the cable by law), but the DTA box is "dumbing it down" to SD. The switch would allow your TV to use its own QAM tuner to get HD channels (a few of them, but definitely the locals.)
You could rent a proper HD box from Comcast and get every HD channel on whatever your TV portion allows. That would probably be easiest if you want the lower bill. Otherwise, just go back to D*.
lilditty ... I use Comcast, but have no HD package, which is needed to get any HD through their boxes. You get the locals in HD by bypassing your set-top box and using your HD TV's QAM tuner, as already noted. I do this all the time.
The A/B switch looks like a 2-way splitter with slide switch built in ($5 online), and works well, except you have to get up and manually actuate it. So you first split the cable, put one part to the cable box and then to the switch, and the other directly to the switch, and the switch output goes to the TV (there may even be remote control versions of the coax A/B switch).
Absolutely agree about the Comcast Guide, and never use it on the TV. Their smartphone version is quite useable, however. TV Guide also has a good iOS version, as well as PC version, so you could try that.
The A/B switch looks like a 2-way splitter with slide switch built in ($5 online), and works well, except you have to get up and manually actuate it. So you first split the cable, put one part to the cable box and then to the switch, and the other directly to the switch, and the switch output goes to the TV (there may even be remote control versions of the coax A/B switch).
Absolutely agree about the Comcast Guide, and never use it on the TV. Their smartphone version is quite useable, however. TV Guide also has a good iOS version, as well as PC version, so you could try that.
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