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Donfish
York Pa.
join:2009-07-15
York, PA

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Re: New Guides for SA/Cisco Areas (Info from Ted Hodgins Blog)

(York Pa.) Back in December 2011 I posted from that blog:

The HD Pass Through feature was one that was in the previous guide and is now re-introduced in this software patch. With this patch, we have seen no issues when using component cables and following the steps outlined to activate the HD Pass Through feature. Currently we have experienced inconsistent and mixed results using HDMI cables with different TV sets and different cable boxes.

This is unfortunate as we know a lot of our customers have HDMI connections built in behind walls for larger mounted TV sets. The HDMI issue is scheduled to be addressed in a future release.



Information about this bug seems to have found it's way off the blog. Has anyone had the HD Pass Through using HDMI with the Cisco RNG 150HD work properly?

Basically what happens is after I set up passthrough the first station I tune to will become the default resolution and any station tuned to after that will retain that resolution, forcing a new handshake by cycling ports with the sets remote resets the set to the proper resolution for the station tuned but then that resolution becomes the default when tuning to another station with a different res.

I have two of the above boxes into two Vizio sets

Russ6
join:2011-03-17
Houston, TX

Russ6

Member

said by Donfish:

(York Pa.) Back in December 2011 I posted from that blog:

The HD Pass Through feature was one that was in the previous guide and is now re-introduced in this software patch. With this patch, we have seen no issues when using component cables and following the steps outlined to activate the HD Pass Through feature. Currently we have experienced inconsistent and mixed results using HDMI cables with different TV sets and different cable boxes.

This is unfortunate as we know a lot of our customers have HDMI connections built in behind walls for larger mounted TV sets. The HDMI issue is scheduled to be addressed in a future release.



Information about this bug seems to have found it's way off the blog. Has anyone had the HD Pass Through using HDMI with the Cisco RNG 150HD work properly?

Basically what happens is after I set up passthrough the first station I tune to will become the default resolution and any station tuned to after that will retain that resolution, forcing a new handshake by cycling ports with the sets remote resets the set to the proper resolution for the station tuned but then that resolution becomes the default when tuning to another station with a different res.

I have two of the above boxes into two Vizio sets

said by Ted Hodgins :
. . .
The firmware update included in this upcoming release also has the HDMI cables working very well with the HD Pass-Through feature.

Ted Hodgins replied to comment from Russ | May 3, 2012 4:49 PM
Click the following link for the complete blog entries:

»Re: New Guides for SA/Cisco Areas (Info from Ted Hodgins Blog)
Donfish
York Pa.
join:2009-07-15
York, PA

Donfish

Member

Thanks Russ, don't know how I missed that.
Russ6
join:2011-03-17
Houston, TX

Russ6

Member

The following posts are from Comcast's Ted Hodgins, Sr. Director, Video Product Development - Navigation, in Media & Entertainment, "New Guide for Scientific Atlanta Cable Boxes" blog.

They explain the plans for Houston to get On-Screen Guide 2.0
quote:
Ted when will Comcast launch the 2.0 new guide? i have the new RNG 200N in Houston? The Guide is very beautiful.

Brandon | May 15, 2012 10:56 AM

»blog.comcast.com/2010/05 ··· nt-48519
quote:
@Brandon, we have a meeting in Houston at the end of the month to go over our proposed schedule and additional details with the local Comcast management team. We have had great success in our launched areas.

The plan is to get On-Screen Guide 2.0 »www.xfinity.com/onscreenguide2
available to our Houston customers this year just as we have been able to do in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, parts of Louisiana and now Minnesota (and soon New Mexico and Texas).

I will have a better date for your area after our meeting with the Comcast Houston team.

The plan we are following has been to introduce On-Screen Guide 2.0 with AnyRoom DVR initially and then also eventually include all of the RNG devices (RNG 100, 150 and 200) after a certain date in deployed markets later this year.

We do understandably have a controlled deployment plan for the early stages of this guide deployment so we can monitor customer and business metrics, install times, and the overall impact to our customers and to the business.

Even though you already have a Cisco RNG 200N now, getting the new On-Screen Guide 2.0 initially is a factor of getting a Cisco RNG box after a certain calendar date in each market.

After that, the current plan is to arrange to change the on-screen guide on the existing RNG set tops in the On-Screen Guide 2.0 deployed markets. That will require some advance, direct and wide customer communication.

Ted Hodgins replied to comment from Brandon | May 15, 2012 12:07

»blog.comcast.com/2010/05 ··· nt-48521

cypherstream
MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
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ARRIS SB8200

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The plan is to get On-Screen Guide 2.0 »www.xfinity.com/onscreenguide2
available to our Houston customers this year just as we have been able to do in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, parts of Louisiana and now Minnesota (and soon New Mexico and Texas).

So it's in 7 states but yet not one single damn review on it or poster on here.

Why am I having trouble believing this guy?
Russ6
join:2011-03-17
Houston, TX

Russ6

Member

said by cypherstream:

The plan is to get On-Screen Guide 2.0 »www.xfinity.com/onscreenguide2
available to our Houston customers this year just as we have been able to do in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, parts of Louisiana and now Minnesota (and soon New Mexico and Texas).

So it's in 7 states but yet not one single damn review on it or poster on here.

Why am I having trouble believing this guy?

It is not widely deployed. It currently is only available in 7 states with the Cisco RNG 200-N DVR (only for the SA/Cisco STB markets, not the Motorola STB markets) and requires the customer to have AnyRoom DVR functionality. It has only been made available recently over the last 3 or 4 months except for 2 sites in Florida which I think were test markets. It will be deployed on other RNG STBs and the more modern Motorola STBs in the future.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

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Still no DVR manager..... Website says it’s available in my area but can't find a box. What the hell is going on with these engineers, they start summer/fall/winter vacation already?
Russ6
join:2011-03-17
Houston, TX

Russ6

Member

said by Mike Wolf:

Still no DVR manager..... Website says it's available in my area but can't find a box. What the hell is going on with these engineers, they start summer/fall/winter vacation already?

DVR Manager is not going to be available in SA/Cisco STB markets until the new S26 guide is deployed. The S26 guide is scheduled to start being deployed in June 2012. It will take months before it is deployed in all SA/Cisco STB markets.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

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then why would the website say it was available in my area when I'm logged into my account? Thanks for the update Russ.
Russ6
join:2011-03-17
Houston, TX

Russ6

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It is probably too difficult for Comcast to coordinate the web site with the release of S26 in every SA/Cisco STB market. There was a similar issue when the World of More was being deployed in Houston. It took over a year to be deployed across Houston and during that time it said it was available in all of Houston.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

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Well let's hope everything works out for the best. Any thoughts on what this new guide might look like? I'm still getting used to the S25 guide lol
Russ6
join:2011-03-17
Houston, TX

Russ6

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said by Mike Wolf:

Well let's hope everything works out for the best. Any thoughts on what this new guide might look like? I'm still getting used to the S25 guide lol

It will look like the current S25 guide with some additional features found in the Motorola A28 guide. For more information see the following link and the post that follows it:
»Re: New Guides for SA/Cisco Areas (Info from Ted Hodgins Blog)
Russ6

Russ6

Member

The following excerpt is from Ted Hodgins' "New Guide for Scientific Atlanta Cable Boxes" blog. This is the first time I have seen an announcement that On-Screen Guide 2.0 will be available on new Cisco RNG 150N boxes in July in selected areas.
quote:
. . .
In some areas (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana and Minnesota) we are already delivering On-Screen Guide 2.0 »www.xfinity.com/onscreenguide2 to our AnyRoom DVR customers and in July will start delivering that guide experience to new Cisco RNG 150N and Cisco RNG 200N boxes in those areas.
. . .

Ted Hodgins replied to comment from Nate | June 12, 2012 4:59 PM

»blog.comcast.com/2010/05 ··· nt-50194
Russ6

Russ6

Member

The following excerpt concerning the start of the S26 guide deployment is from Ted Hodgins' "New Guide for Scientific Atlanta Cable Boxes" blog. This is the first time I have seen an announcement that it is being delayed to August. Previous posts have stated that it would start in June.
quote:
. . .
This is a site by site roll-out so when your specific area gets it may vary. We do plan to start deployments in areas of Connecticut but aren't at liberty to release our scheduled dates or sequence at this point.

The majority of our customer deployments for these features are scheduled to begin soon after the Summer Olympics have completed (after August 12).

Ted Hodgins replied to comment from Jess | June 25, 2012 11:18 AM

»blog.comcast.com/2010/05 ··· nt-51030
Russ6

Russ6

Member

The following excerpt concerning the On-Screen Guide 2.0 deployment is from Ted Hodgins' "New Guide for Scientific Atlanta Cable Boxes" blog. I think it is more than a slight change.
quote:
. . .
New as I used the word here means newly installed or obtained by a customer from Comcast after a certain date.

A slight change from our previous plan is that we now don't have plans to update existing cable boxes currently in customer's homes to On-Screen Guide 2.0.

For our existing customers: Once On-Screen Guide 2.0 is available in your market, we would need to swap the existing Cisco RNG 200N or Cisco RNG 150N boxes in your home or you could arrange to get the new boxes from your local Comcast service center in order to get On-Screen Guide 2.0.

More information on On-Screen Guide 2.0 is available here.
»www.xfinity.com/onscreenguide2

Ted Hodgins replied to comment from Dan | July 2, 2012 4:49 PM

»blog.comcast.com/2010/05 ··· nt-51436
wdsnls
join:2003-06-19
Palm City, FL

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Member

I just posted a question to the blog regarding "new". I picked up a RNG200N two weeks ago from my local office. It was shrink wrapped and had never been issued previously. It had a manufacture date of May 2012. If this is not considered "new" and I have to swap it, I will keep the box and do without the On-Screen 2.0 guide. I can't see them having to swap all existing boxes. There was nothing but lines out the door and parking problems when they were issuing the DTA's. This could be worse!

rej4sl
join:2008-07-11
Minneapolis, MN

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I just called comcast. We are in Minneapolis. Yes we have the 2.0 guide boxes. No you can't collect one. Yes you have a RNG 200 box but we can't update over the air. WE have to arrange a Tech call and there is a $23.00 service fee. I asked why and then for a supervisor but still waiting for a call back.
I can't believe we have to pay a fee to upgrade our guide.

cypherstream
MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
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ARRIS SB8200

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cypherstream

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I don't understand why they can't update the box remotely. They've been doing this for years, as has been Verizon Fios, AT&T U-Verse, DirecTV, Dish Network, and other cable / satellite providers all over the world.

How do you think Comcast went from SARA to I-Guide? Or Passport Echo to SARA to I-Guide? How did Time Warner load Navigator remotely? How about DirecTV's HD-UI upgrade? What about Dish Network updating the Hopper to skip commercials on Prime Time Anytime? What about Sky UK's latest HD-UI update? You send a signal to the box and tell it to download new software.

This is just really weird. I'm curious what they come back with - if anything.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

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I'm speechless and quite a bit pissed.

maybe
@comcast.net

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to wdsnls
If OSG 2.0 wasn't live in your area when you got your box, then you will most likely have to swap it out. The box you receive will be pre-loaded with OSG 2.0. I suppose Comcast is too lazy to actually deploy the new guide to customers. If they pushed I-Guide to boxes, certainly they can do the same here.

rej4sl
join:2008-07-11
Minneapolis, MN

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Now I am getting pissed - call again and now they say you can pick a box up at the store to avoid the fee. I am not sure who to believe as he said it was dependent on inventory.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

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It sounds like a trip is gonna be needed and to prepare for leaving empty handed.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

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Maybe the file that is downloaded to upgrade an STB to On-Screen Guide 2.0 is relatively large-sized compared to previous upgrades, and Comcast found issues during testing? I know that only the latest STBs, like the RNG series, are said to be able to handle this new guide.

So if the existing STBs on SA/Cisco systems will only start being updated to the S26 guide sometime later this summer, will there come a point later on where Comcast will no longer support it and require people to swap out their boxes for new ones that run On-Screen Guide 2.0?

rej4sl
join:2008-07-11
Minneapolis, MN

1 edit

rej4sl

Member

I am waiting a call back regarding this. Not sure what is happening yet but the lady mentioned a new piece of equipment was needed that is why the service charge.

Well I will find out on Monday - we are having a brand new DVR with the updated guide with a lot more features. It is only supposed to be for new Triple play customers or new customers.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

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I still think its stupid that people are being forced to upgrade DVR boxes which contain their recordings just to get an update for their guide.

rej4sl
join:2008-07-11
Minneapolis, MN

rej4sl

Member

Yup it is silly. No idea what we are getting as they are very tight lipped about it. So will find out what happens on Monday. They should be able to update the current boxes to the new software but maybe in the future they will do that.

brhalltx
Premium Member
join:2002-12-09
Cypress, TX

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It's yet another way for them to make a buck...

Just like the $5 they tried to charge me to "upgrade" my TV package via chat, after the in store rep didn't do what I asked... And I'm sure they pay the in store reps a lot more.

Floppy
join:2002-07-03

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Yup, lets get out the pitch forks and go down to the local offices.

It's funny to see people get pissed off over trivial crap....surely there isn't a technical reason why the current boxes cannot be upgraded to the new software.

rej4sl
join:2008-07-11
Minneapolis, MN

rej4sl

Member

I just had a call from another supervisor and it looks like they are converting us to any room DVR which sounds intriguing as we only have on DVR box. I am sure they will upgrade all boxes in the future to the software - can't see why not. Maybe this is the only way at the moment to get it.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

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I'm sure there is too, I just was looking forward to the customers who rent the boxes getting a really good interface without having to lose all of their recordings by swapping out the box with no way of knowing what they are getting back.