dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
41178
promise7
join:2012-08-16
San Francisco, CA

promise7

Member

HD channels and cable box question

Hello all,

First let me say I'm a absolute "noob" when it comes to HDTV. We subscribe to basic Comcast TV, no Pay-Per-View, no On Demand, etc., nothing fancy. When they whole digital conversion happened we were forced to get these digital boxes(?), model number DC50X, so we could continue watching our basic cable. FX, TNT, TBS, ESPN, ESPN2, etc. We don't subcribe to any paid channels like HBO, Showtime, etc. The boxes are these small boxes that come with a ugly small remote and just do the absolute basic things, channel +/-, volume +/-, mute.

We recently bought two HDTV's to replace old tube TV's that died. One is a Samsung, and one is a TCL (never heard of them before, but it was a good price and has good reviews). We went and plugged both into the digital box from the old tube TV's and are able to continue watching all the old channels we have always had, but now it's just on a bigger screen and on a HDTV (but not in HD).

In the product descriptions for the HDTV's they say that I wouldn't need a digital box and that I could plug the cable tv line directly to the TV. When I do so and run a scan, I get all these wonderful and super sharp HD channels like 2.1, 4.2, etc. They look great, but I can't get any of my old channels like FX, TNT, TBS, ESPN, etc. Plus all the channel lineups are different. On my tube TV w/ a digital box TBS is channel 35, on the HDTV w/o a digital box it's something entirely different. I've tried to search for those channels, but don't fintd them.

So my question is, how do I get my regular channels PLUS all these wonderful and great looking HD channels? Do I need a different "box" from Comcast?

Sorry for the long post, first time going through this. Thanks for your time!
aguiar0016
join:2006-01-23
New Bedford, MA

aguiar0016

Member

Promise7,

What you need is a HD box from comcast on each of the TVs you want to get FX, TNT, TBS, ESPN in HD. The box you have sounds like a standard digital box which will not give you a HD picture with comcast on the channels you are missing.

If you want those HD channels on both TVs you will need 2 HD boxes.

andyross
MVM
join:2003-05-04
Aurora, IL

andyross to promise7

MVM

to promise7
The only channels you can get directly on a TV (often called ClearQAM) is Limited Basic, typically just local broadcast channels. All of the 'cable' channels are now encrypted and require some form of cable box (what you have are DTA's, Digital Tuner Adapter), or a device with CableCard support.

To get full HD, you may have to upgrade to Digital Starter, which includes one SD box. For HD, you have to pay an additional $8 or so, but that covers the entire house and would give you HD versions of all channels in your package (if available in your area), not just locals. A second box will be another $8-9. Since you currently have two (I assume) DTA's, you will hopefully still be grandfathered in for them being free, otherwise, if you want to keep one of them, they may charge $1.99.

There is another complicated workaround if just locals in HD is OK for you. Use a splitter and send one output to the DTA, and one to the TV. You then need to convert the DTA's RF output to a standard video output. You can use an old VCR and tune it to channel 3, then send the AV output of the VCR to your TV. You can then toggle the TV to it's tuner for HD, and the AV input for cable channels. You can also buy a separate RF DEmodulator (not RF Modulator) in place of the VCR.

Lets hope Comcast starts to roll out HD DTA's. They do exist, but Comcast isn't using them yet (probably some regulatory issues or something.) I'd also guess they may still require that $8 monthly fee.
promise7
join:2012-08-16
San Francisco, CA

promise7

Member

Thanks all for the info. I was hoping to avoid upgrading our cable, not sure how much more Digital Starter is over our current basic cable. Is that additional $8 monthly fee for the HD channels or for "renting" the HD box from Comcast?

andyross
MVM
join:2003-05-04
Aurora, IL

andyross

MVM

The $8 is basically an upgrade fee. Even if you get an HD box (Comcast only buys them now), HD channels will be disabled without the fee. That one fee will cover ALL full boxes or CableCards per account.

If you do get FX and others, then you probably have grandfathered Expanded Basic. They no longer offer it to new users, and the price may even be the same as Digital Starter.
promise7
join:2012-08-16
San Francisco, CA

promise7

Member

Thanks for the tip, I went to Comcast's site and matched the channel lineup w/ the one I have and it looks like I do have Digital Starter. I don't know when we got that because we haven't upgraded our cable TV in forever, we did switch from DSL to Comcast high speed internet about two years ago though. My brother is the account holder so I don't know these things, but even if I asked him which package we have he probably wouldn't know.

I noticed no HD channels are included in the Digital Starter. If I go and get the Comcast HD box, what HD channels would I actualy be getting since according to the Comcast lineup HD channels in this area are 702-847 and they aren't listed for Digital Starter package.

andyross
MVM
join:2003-05-04
Aurora, IL

andyross

MVM

The old Expanded Basic has basically become Digital Starter. You or somebody should check the full bill (if you don't get a paper copy mailed, you can check on-line and download a PDF). That will state exactly what package you have.

Typically, you should get HD versions of all channels that are part of your package. The Comcast channel list can be a pain to figure out, as it's often out of date or confusing as to how to read it for different packages.
promise7
join:2012-08-16
San Francisco, CA

promise7

Member

I called Comcast to ask them what our new monthly bill would be after we switched to the HD boxes and they offered a promotion that they were running. They would upgrade our cable TV from Digital Starter to Digital Preferred HD and our internet from 12Mbps to 50Mbps for $119.99 for the 1st year and $139.99 thereafter. We pay $140 for our current plan so I gave it a try since NBA TV is included in the new package. I just have to go exchange the 2 standard boxes for 2 HD boxes. They said one would be "free" and the other would be $8.75/month.

I should have asked them, but does anyone know how soon I should get the new channels and the new internet speed? I know for the HDTV's I will need to wait until I get the HD boxes, but what about my other standard TV's. How soon should they get the new non-HD channels such as NBA TV, ESPNews, etc. Do I need to reset the digital boxes and my internet modem to get them?

Caddyroger
Premium Member
join:2001-06-11
To the west

Caddyroger

Premium Member

said by promise7:

I called Comcast to ask them what our new monthly bill would be after we switched to the HD boxes and they offered a promotion that they were running. They would upgrade our cable TV from Digital Starter to Digital Preferred HD and our internet from 12Mbps to 50Mbps for $119.99 for the 1st year and $139.99 thereafter. We pay $140 for our current plan so I gave it a try since NBA TV is included in the new package. I just have to go exchange the 2 standard boxes for 2 HD boxes. They said one would be "free" and the other would be $8.75/month.

I should have asked them, but does anyone know how soon I should get the new channels and the new internet speed? I know for the HDTV's I will need to wait until I get the HD boxes, but what about my other standard TV's. How soon should they get the new non-HD channels such as NBA TV, ESPNews, etc. Do I need to reset the digital boxes and my internet modem to get them?

You will get the internet speeds and new channels in about 10 minutes. All they have to do it send a hit to your boxes. You may have to do a reset of your modem for the new speeds.
promise7
join:2012-08-16
San Francisco, CA

promise7

Member

it's been over 30mins since I talked to the CSR and they said they made the changes. I unplugged both the standard digital box, and the modem and still nothing new. Maybe I have to call them again? My brother is picking up the new HD box at the moment so I'll give it a try then.

I should be able to get the new non-HD channels on our old tube TV's that are hooked up to the standard digital boxes though is that correct to assume? I'm mostly anxious to watch NBA TV, and I don't think that's a HD only channel.

Caddyroger
Premium Member
join:2001-06-11
To the west

Caddyroger

Premium Member

said by promise7:

:( it's been over 30mins since I talked to the CSR and they said they made the changes. I unplugged both the standard digital box, and the modem and still nothing new. Maybe I have to call them again? My brother is picking up the new HD box at the moment so I'll give it a try then.

I should be able to get the new non-HD channels on our old tube TV's that are hooked up to the standard digital boxes though is that correct to assume? I'm mostly anxious to watch NBA TV, and I don't think that's a HD only channel.

What modem do you have?. You should have the new channels already.
promise7
join:2012-08-16
San Francisco, CA

promise7

Member

Scientific Atlanta DPC2100 for our cable internet modem. I tried a Speedtest after I hung up with them, and then waited about 20 minutes and tried it again and same old speeds.

For the TV, since we don't have the HD boxes yet, I tried some new non-HD channels on our tube TV's and nothing happens when I hit enter on the remote.

mikedz4
join:2003-04-14
Weirton, WV

mikedz4

Member

the current boxes are digital adapters. You will need to go to the office and exchange for hd boxes to get the new channels.
preferred includes espnu, espn news, weather scan, and a bunch of other channels.
promise7
join:2012-08-16
San Francisco, CA

promise7

Member

Ah, yeah thanks. I called Comcast afterwards to ask how I could get those Digital Preferred channels on my standard TV's and they said exactly what you said. It's a tough decision at the moment because we have 3 standard TV's and 2 HDTV's. We only get 1 HD box for free, so we would have to pay $8.75/month for each of the other 4 TV's. We're getting a second HD box for sure for the second HDTV, but haven't decided if we want to pay for renting 3 additonal boxes for the rest of the standard TV's as they are just bedroom TV's. That would $35/month just for boxes alone which is kind of ridiculous to me.

I did finally get the Digital Preferred HD channels working, I had to call them because I didn't activate the new home phone service which they said was holding up the entire process, but the CSR was able to just skip that for now and get the TV working.

They are mailing me a new cable modem for internet because they said my current one is DOCSIS 2.0 and I will need a DOCSIS 3.0. They mentioned I won't be getting my upgraded internet speed until I receive the new modem. Also, the very first CSR was completely wrong about what speed I would be getting... She said I would be upgraded from 12Mbps to 50Mbps (Which I repeated back to her to make sure she wasn't making a mistake since that's a big jump.) She did indeed say 50. The new CSR said that was incorrect info and that I would be getting 20Mbps, not 50. She also incorrectly put in a order to mail me a HD box which costs $15, when I spcifically told her I would go to a service center to pick up 2 to avoid that fee.

The remote and whole system gets some getting used to, but the HD pictures are great. I haven't been able to get the Comcast remote to work with the TV yet because it's a TCL TV and not very known. I just had a question about what resolution TV stations broadcast their shows because I tried NBA TV HD, ESPN HD, FOX HD, etc, and when I hit the "Info" button on my TV it says the channel name, HDMI port #, and then 1280 x 720. My TV is 1080P compatible, why is it saying 720p resolution?

Ultibeam
join:2008-05-27
USA

Ultibeam

Member

There are no 1080P broadcasts. It's 720P or 1080i.
promise7
join:2012-08-16
San Francisco, CA

promise7

Member

Oh, I didn't know that! That seems weird since 1080p is out there. Thanks for the info, I was worried they sent me the wrong TV or something.

Thanks everyone for all the replies, made this whole process easier to understand. I apologize for all the long posts, and many beginner questions.

Thanks again everyone!

sportsfan54
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Laurel, MS

sportsfan54

Premium Member

You can change the resolution on the Comcast HDTV box. Turn off the HDTV box but leave the television on. Hit the menu button and you can scroll down to match the resolution on the receiver to whatever your television uses. Then turn the receiver back on.

mikedz4
join:2003-04-14
Weirton, WV

mikedz4 to promise7

Member

to promise7
I know it's a bad price but that is how they get you by making you rent a box in every room you want espnu,etc. So if you want to watch a game on espnu in the bedroom you need a full box. IIRC most new boxes are hd boxes at least here. They can just shut off the hd service if you don't have hd on your plan.
promise7
join:2012-08-16
San Francisco, CA

promise7 to sportsfan54

Member

to sportsfan54
Thanks for that info, when the menu came up it gave me these choices,

1080i YES/NO
480i YES/NO
480p YES/NO
720p YES/NO
1080p24 PASS YES/NO
1080p30 PASS YES/NO

Only 720p was set to YES, do I set them all to YES? I'm aslo not sure what 1080p24 and 1080p30 means as I've only ever heard of just 1080p.

sportsfan54
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Laurel, MS

sportsfan54

Premium Member

Try it with the 1080p24 and then try it with the 1080p30. Then see if one of them has a better picture. Turn the rest of them off.
You are not getting the best picture by not using the 1080.
promise7
join:2012-08-16
San Francisco, CA

promise7

Member

It won't let me turn off 720p if I turn on 1080p24 or 1080p30. It just lets me have both turned on at the same time. If I choose 1080i though, it lets me turn off everything else.

I don't have a DVD or Blu-Ray player hooked up to the TV so this is all through watching ESPN HD, NBA TV HD, etc. When I play XBOX 360, I set 1080p through the game console settings.

Should I just leave 720p and 1080p24/1080p30 both on? My TV is 60Hz if that makes a difference as to if I should set it to 24 or 30.

This is the TV: »www.amazon.com/L40FHDP60 ··· title_ce