[Tachy]

Not sure this is the best forum for this question, but here goes.......


Comcast cable in my area just announced that it will be offering HDTV on cable, with a new motorola HDTV cable box starting next week.


Unfortunately the people manning the phones know little about it, other than it exists, and certainly cannot answer any questions about video or audio quality or specs or even whether digital audio hookup will be possible.


What they can tell me is that it will be an additional $10.95 per month, and will include just ABC and NBC, and one HBO channel. There will be one Showtime channel as well, but for this I would have to pay another $11.95, because I do not get showtime.


Is there anyone out there who either gets this service, or knows something about it, or the technology. Is it worth it? Is there enough out there broadcast in "HDTV" on the major networks? Is it truly HDTV? And what about the audio quality, the woman led me to believe that she thinks the audio is the same as what I am already getting, but she did not really know.


I am using a Pioneer HD610............I assume I would not need the optional HDTV tuner for this, or would I??


Any help would be appreciated.


Thank you.

 

[John Mason]

IMO, 4 HDTV channels, including two premiums, is worth what you'll pay. Time Warner (TWC), as the threads here show, delivers a lot more channels in Houston using two combined Motorola converters. I've been getting TWC's HDTV service in NYC for about a year; we only get three channels now, having lost several from the World Trade attack.


HDTV picture fidelity is slightly worse with our Scientific Atlanta converters (SA2000HDs) compared to OTA-format signals, I found. The 2000HD, which is a 2000 with a piggybacked HDTV module, puts a faint fog over the image, reducing fine detail. We're supposed to get newer 3100HD converters, too, one of these days. Newer converters, designed with HDTV in mind, may eliminate the slight fidelity loss. No, you wouldn't need an OTA/satellite tuner/converter in addition to the cable unit.


Having premium channels in HDTV gives you access to movies around the clock, although you'll find Showtime's movies are often upconverted NTSC, which I find inferior. -- John

 

[schlitzie]

Not sure how they could call it HDTV without a DD 5.1 audio signal, since it is my understanding that that is one of the parameters that allows HDTV to be labeled as such (and not EDTV).



However, IMO, they are driving false advertising since Comcast's highly advertised "digital" cable isn't really digital either - It is merely a digitally compressed analog signal with a simulated stereo (i.e. - mono), so who knows what the hell they are really putting out. They compress it in order to fit more channels into the same bandwidth (HBO2, etc.) in order to compete with satellite. Maybe they have fixed their technology in the past 6 months and are really on the ball with this HDTV thing, but I am being very cautious signing on until I know what I am truly getting for 70 bucks a month.


I am not going to sign up and get rid of my dish (I have analog cable and directv) until i can get one of their technical folk on the phone, which is a tough thing to do....

 

[hifihead]

There is a fairly lengthly thread I noticed under the HDTV Programming Forum within this site that may answer many of your questions. I think the thread is called "HD Cable in tristate area" - not sure how to attach a link. Apparently, delivery and installation of the set top boxes continues to be delayed from early Nov to late Nov. No one has been able to give us a review yet. Good Luck!