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

telcodad

MVM

Re: [X1-X2] Xfinity X1 now available to New Customers

said by telcodad:

Well, it looks like the Xi5 boxes did start "shipping" this month, but apparently only to Comcast employees right now:

Comcast's First HDR Box in Employee Trials
Customer deployments of the 'Xi5' still targeted for later this year

By Jeff Baumgartner, Multichannel News - July 29, 2016
»www.multichannel.com/new ··· s/406737
 
EDIT: Karl has a news item up about this now: »Comcast's HDR Set Top Misses Rio Olympics Launch Goal [16] comments

From statements at the end of this MCN article today (»www.multichannel.com/new ··· g/407851), it looks like the Xi5 boxes are becoming available to customers now:
quote:
CPE Update

Roberts also announced some deployment updates for Comcast's latest line of set-tops and gateways.

He said Comcast launched the Xi5, the MSO's first HDR-capable client box for the X1 platform, last week. Notably, it doesn't need a wired cable connection, but instead connects to the primary box over WiFi.

"I think this is the future of how we're making cable boxes," Roberts said of the Xi5's wireless connectivity.

He added that Comcast has also launched the XB6, a DOCSIS 3.1-powered gateway, that he dubbed, "as the world's fastest router."

"We're taking this to retail," Roberts said of the XB6, adding that it will also allow for customer self-installs.


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

Mike Wolf to telcodad

Member

to telcodad
Good find.

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

1 recommendation

telcodad

MVM

FYI - A new Comcast Voices blog post on some new features and enhancements that have been added to the X1 platform:

Summer On X1: Making the User Experience More Personalized and Convenient
Comcast Voices blog - September 16, 2016
»corporate.comcast.com/co ··· nvenient

Also on MCN: »www.multichannel.com/new ··· s/407826

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

2 edits

1 recommendation

Mike Wolf to Zoder

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to Zoder
Yup. Option 1 has a larger font and gray text instead of white. Option 2 has a larger font then option 1, gray text instead of white, and a black background. Option 3 uses a larger font then option 1, gray text instead of white, a black background, and larger poster art.
The referenced "black background" is simply the "background darkness level" transparency being set to 11 (off).
Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL

Zoder to Mike Wolf

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to Mike Wolf
By readability, do you mean addressing the small font issue many have complained about? That would be happy news to many on the Comcast forum.

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

1 recommendation

Mike Wolf

Member

Something new introduced late tonight, three new readability options for the guide. This is located in the Comcast Labs section of the menu.
Mike Wolf

Mike Wolf to Zoder

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to Zoder
Oh I don't think that's necessary. If you want that, get the movie on disc.
Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL

Zoder to gate1975mlm

Member

to gate1975mlm
It would also be cool if they could add chapters to all of the movies like on DVDs and blu-ray.

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

Mike Wolf to gate1975mlm

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to gate1975mlm
Yes, that's part of the new 1.66.06 8/31 update when the "new video playback controls" option is selected in the Comcast Labs menu. »forums.xfinity.com/t5/X1 ··· #M112644

gate1975mlm
Premium Member
join:2001-09-30
Philadelphia, PA

2 recommendations

gate1975mlm

Premium Member

It seems Comcast has added a 5th speed option for Fast Forwarding and rewinding to X1.

But instead of saying 5 it shows a Lighting Strike like the Superhero Flash and it's super fast and allows you to get to where you want in the recording very quickly and much quicker then 4 speed When I first discovered this I actually thought it was a bug and not a new feature. But now that I got the hang of it it I actually like it.

You just got to be careful not to press the button 5 times or you will skip ahead or back SUPER FAST!!!

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

telcodad

MVM

FYI - On the MCN site today:

Comcast Appears to Be Trying New Twist on 'Send To TV' Beta
X1 screen shows bookmarked access to OTT services such as YouTube, Vevo, Vimeo

By Jeff Baumgartner, Multichannel News - September 1, 2016
»www.multichannel.com/blo ··· a/407441

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

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Mike Wolf to ListedGuru

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I too just switched to the X1 about a week ago, and had the same question. I simply set mine to 1080p and haven't looked back. The picture quality on the X1, regardless of being set to 720p, 1080i, or 1080p is quite awesome. I'm extremely pleased.

Debilee
@2600:1002.x

1 recommendation

Debilee to telcodad

Anon

to telcodad
Question, what's the difference between v1, v2 and v3 of the XR11 voice remote? Moreover, where is v4?

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

1 recommendation

telcodad

MVM

FYI - X1 Cloud Technology is now available for X1 users in Michigan:

Comcast rolls out upgrades in Michigan
By Shandra Martinez, MLive.com - August 30, 2016
»www.mlive.com/news/grand ··· _in.html
quote:
Michigan Comcast customers can now access television shows on any connected laptop, smartphone or tablet in their home and watch any show recorded on their digital video recorder remotely anywhere on a mobile device.

The country's largest cable provider in the United States announced this week that it is rolling out its cloud-enabled video service across the state.

The in-home streaming feature lets customers watch TV from any screen connected to the Internet within the home.
:
X1 DVR with Cloud Technology is available to Xfinity TV customers. Comcast says it has launched an Xfinity TV app for iOS and Android tablets and smartphones, and a dedicated portal for viewing on computers. ...

Mark12547
Premium Member
join:2015-10-06
Salem, OR
Cisco DPC3941

Mark12547 to ListedGuru

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said by ListedGuru:

I'm not sure what you mean by turning the overscan off though. I guess that's something that would be done in the TV menu (I have a Vizio TV).

Short answer:

Since you have a Vizio TV, you probably don't have to worry about overscan.

In my Vizio E500i-A1 50-in 1080-line "Smart TV", just out of the box, overscan was off by default.

Long Answer:

Yes, overscan is a function of the TV. Most TV manufacturers do "overscan", even though overscan comes from the old analog circuitry days of analog TVs (yes, predating even transistors in TV consoles; I'm talking about back in the 1950s and 1960s). The idea is to do a slight zoom so distortion of the edges of the original TV cameras would be outside of the part of the screen displaying the image. As cameras improved, there was still the problem of the CRT TVs changing their zoom slightly as line voltage changed and as components aged, so having some overscan hid the onset of decreased deflection voltage (image shrink).

But with modern TV cameras and modern TVs with fixed-position pixels and using digital signals, "overscan" is now a relic of the past and robs viewers of about 5% of the image by cutting off the edges. Also, "ovrescan" means the TV is doing a bit of rescaling to do the slight zoom, which slightly softens the image.

I came across this link for turning off overscan, though the details may vary across models.

Turning off overscan in Vizio: »techin.oureverydaylife.c ··· 748.html

More info on overscan and turning off overscan in several brands, including Vizio: »www.howtogeek.com/252193 ··· -it-off/

On my 32-in LG TV (the 768-line TV I currently have connected to the Xfinity I-guide HD DVR), turning off overscan means setting "Aspect Ratio" on the TV (or the "Ratio" button on the TV remote) to "Just Scan". However, when displaying 480 content (either 480i or 480p), the TV will do a bit of ovrescan and will disable the "Just Scan" option.

Now, having said all that, I still have places where a slight zoom, such as ovrescan, can be an advantage. Some of the "classic" multicast networks show old TV shows and end up having "line 21" within the visible part of the picture, making for a distracting top line of dancing white and black segments along the top of the screen. But if one turns on overscan, that data line is no longer visible. (Line 21 is used for analog closed captioning.) On rare occasion, even Turner Classic Movies HD will show Line 21 for an old movie.

However, in the past few months I don't recall seeing Line 21 data on the screen. Maybe the multicast networks are doing a better job of keeping Line 21 outside of the video stream, or maybe I had caught the full run of some of the old programs so I am watching other programming now, or maybe I have grown to ignore the Line 21 data.

Most content, though, looks better without overscan, and I personally have overscan off in both my TVs.
ListedGuru
join:2001-09-14
Canton, MI

ListedGuru to Mark12547

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to Mark12547
My tv does have a native resolution of 1080P. I'm not sure what you mean by turning the overscan off though. I guess that's something that would be done in the tv menu (I have a Vizio TV).

Thanks for the post. Your explanation makes sense as the less rescaling the better...

-Leland

Mark12547
Premium Member
join:2015-10-06
Salem, OR
Cisco DPC3941

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said by ListedGuru:

I was wondering what I should set the ouput of the X1 box to? Looks like you can choose 720P, 1080i or 1080P. What's best for watching HD broadcasts on the X1?

While you wait for an intelligent answer, this would be my suggestion: 1080p. Reason: if the TV has a native resolution of 1080 and overscan is turned off and your TV accepts 1080p60, then feeding the TV a 1080p signal will have the X1 DVR doing the rescaling and deinterlacing as necessary, leaving it to the TV to just display the picture as presented to it. Any other output setting of the X1 DVR would have the X1 DVR deinterlacing or rescaling a channel, and the TV doing additional processing on that signal, and between the two one will probably experience a decrease of picture quality. This is assuming, of course, that the X1 DVR does a decent job of deinterlacing and rescaling, at least for Xfinity content. (I have read postings, I think on another forum, that the X1 does a decent job of rescaling, though I have no means of testing this myself.)

I am still on an I-guide HD DVR, and with that I found the best PQ for most channels is to use NATIVE (not an option with the X1), followed very closely by 1080p. (1080i output will cause 720p stations to not look as good when there is lots of motion, and 720p will lose a bit of picture sharpness for 1080i stations. At least that is what I observed when I did some systematic testing with various settings and 480i, 720p, and 1080i channels.) Also, I have come across an occasional 1080p video-on-demand (selected Encore titles, if I recall correctly) and of course it's nice not rescaling those! (But when I did my systematic testing I didn't test any 1080p video-on-demand content because I wasn't aware that there was any back when I did the testing.)

On the other hand, if your TV has a native resolution of 720, set the output of the X1 DVR to 720p (same logic as above).

If on the third hand your TV has a resolution of a bit more than 720 (my bedroom TV has a native resolution of 768, which is fairly common among the "720 class" of displays), 1080p would provide the most detail to the TV rescaler which of course will be rescaled down, but at least the TV rescaler would have the best possible information (well, second to NATIVE) on which to base its rescaling.

But, as I said, when someone posts an answer based on experience, take that in preference to my post.
ListedGuru
join:2001-09-14
Canton, MI

ListedGuru to Mark12547

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to Mark12547
I just recently switched to X1 from the regular Comcast DVR. I was wondering what I should set the ouput of the X1 box to? Looks like you can choose 720P, 1080i or 1080P. What's best for watching HD broadcasts on the X1?

Thanks,

-Leland

Mark12547
Premium Member
join:2015-10-06
Salem, OR
Cisco DPC3941

Mark12547 to gate1975mlm

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to gate1975mlm
said by gate1975mlm:

I keeps seeing the software dates changed but must just be big fixes.

I am still on I-guide (RNG200N). I had noticed that just before the Olympics that Comcast had changed the DVR menus, replacing the QuickMenu's "Watchlist" with "Olympics", and that item calling up a menu for grid view of Olympics schedule, search Olympic events, Olympic on-demand, etc.

Could some of the X1 updates likewise be related to the Olympic broadcasts?

gate1975mlm
Premium Member
join:2001-09-30
Philadelphia, PA

1 edit

gate1975mlm

Premium Member

I have got to say Comcast has really slowed down big time on adding any noteworthy new features to the X1 system. I mean I know they are updating something because I keep seeing the software dates changed but must just be bug fixes.

It's very disappointing

Are they running out of ideas?
Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL

Zoder to telcodad

Member

to telcodad
So they are totally going to miss the Olympics I guess.

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

1 edit

telcodad

MVM

said by telcodad:

said by SeattleMatt:

Yawn...i've been waiting for the 4k box.... it was supposed to be out last Fall..

Well, Comcast says the non-4K, HDR-capable, 1080p Xi5 box will launch in July:

INTX 2016: Comcast Sets July 4 Debut for First HDR-Capable Box
Comcast CTO Tony Werner says he has more interest in high dynamic range than 4K

By Jeff Baumgartner, Multichannel News - May 18, 2016
»www.multichannel.com/new ··· x/405030
quote:
Comcast plans to start shipping its first box with on-board High Dynamic Range (HDR) capabilities on July 4, according to Tony Werner, Comcast’s EVP and chief technology officer, said here Wednesday during a session with other industry CTOs.

Werner said he has more personal interest in HDR, a technology that enables brighter and more colorful pixels, than 4K, a format that packs about four times the number of pixels than today’s HDTV images.

He said upconverted 1080p looks good, but HDR makes it “noticeably better.”

Here at the show, Comcast showed off the Xi5, its first HDR-capable box that will be wireless and work with the company’s IP-capable X1 platform (»www.multichannel.com/new ··· r/404955). Comcast is also developing the Xi6, which will support both HDR and 4K. ...
 
EDIT2: Karl now has a news item up on this: »Comcast to Ship HDR-Capable (But Not 4K) Set Top Box in July [24] comments

Well, it looks like the Xi5 boxes did start "shipping" this month, but apparently only to Comcast employees right now:

Comcast's First HDR Box in Employee Trials
Customer deployments of the 'Xi5' still targeted for later this year

By Jeff Baumgartner, Multichannel News - July 29, 2016
»www.multichannel.com/new ··· s/406737
 
EDIT: Karl has a news item up about this now: »Comcast's HDR Set Top Misses Rio Olympics Launch Goal [16] comments
telcodad

1 recommendation

telcodad

MVM

An article on the Denver Post site about Comcast's "Viper" team that develops the new features for the X1 platform:

Comcast's Viper Team offers a peek at the future of cable TV
The Denver-based tech team develops features of X1

By Tamara Chuang, Denver Post - July 22, 2016
»www.denverpost.com/2016/ ··· able-tv/
telcodad

telcodad

MVM

FYI - Found this video interview on the Light Reading site today:

Comcast: Prepping Next-Gen Video Services
By Alan Breznick, Light Reading - June 28, 2016
»www.lightreading.com/vid ··· d/724383
quote:
In this LRTV interview, Comcast's Elad Nafshi outlines where MSO stands with cloud DVR, OTT video, college and gigabit services.

scjohnson
join:2010-07-21
Chicago, IL
Motorola MB8600
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)

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scjohnson to telcodad

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to telcodad
said by telcodad:

Some more info on the Xi5 client box:

Comcast HDR Box Ready for Deployment
By Steve Donohue, The Donohue Report - June 15, 2016
»www.donohuereport.com/co ··· loyment/

quote:
Comcast has won FCC approval to deploy a set-top capable of delivering High Dynamic Range (HDR) video, according to a test report published Wednesday.

Manufactured by Pace, the Xi5 "is a set-top box with one HDMI output for connection to a television. The EUT [equipment under test] can accept inputs from Wi-Fi, HDMI and Ethernet. The EUT is controlled by remote control over RF4CE and/or Bluetooth," according to the test report.

Comcast announced plans to deploy the Xi5 in May 2015. EVP Matt Strauss noted that the Xi5 will offer "increased color, contrast and brightness."

Interesting items of note: no coax connector, and the power connector appears to be USB-C. Also, it appears to be very small as a result.
»fccid.io/document.php?id=3023683

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

telcodad

MVM

Click for full size
Xi5 Label
Some more info on the Xi5 client box:

Comcast HDR Box Ready for Deployment
By Steve Donohue, The Donohue Report - June 15, 2016
»www.donohuereport.com/co ··· loyment/
quote:
Comcast has won FCC approval to deploy a set-top capable of delivering High Dynamic Range (HDR) video, according to a test report published Wednesday.

Manufactured by Pace, the Xi5 "is a set-top box with one HDMI output for connection to a television. The EUT [equipment under test] can accept inputs from Wi-Fi, HDMI and Ethernet. The EUT is controlled by remote control over RF4CE and/or Bluetooth," according to the test report.

Comcast announced plans to deploy the Xi5 in May 2015. EVP Matt Strauss noted that the Xi5 will offer "increased color, contrast and brightness."
aabaaf
join:2011-12-09
Wheaton, IL

aabaaf to telcodad

Member

to telcodad
Ok. But as my question asked, what to do in the meantime?

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

telcodad to aabaaf

MVM

to aabaaf
said by aabaaf:

Question then, what about a DVR? Our 4K HDR TV is connected to the DVR. Am I gonna have to have 2 boxes connected to it, to watch, "anything" in HDR/4K? Please advise...........

Until they come out with a new model XG gateway box, only the Xi5 and Xi6 clients will be able to output HDR and only the Xi6 able to output 4K.

The arrangement appears to be similar to that used to provide 4K/HDR with DirecTV: »DirecTV Launching Three 4K Channels, But It's Expensive to Watch [83] comments
aabaaf
join:2011-12-09
Wheaton, IL

aabaaf to telcodad

Member

to telcodad
Question then, what about a DVR? Our 4K HDR TV is connected to the DVR. Am I gonna have to have 2 boxes connected to it, to watch, "anything" in HDR/4K? Please advise...........

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

telcodad

MVM

FYI - Coming soon to a hotel near you:

Comcast To Trial X1 Video Platform For Business Customers
Comcast press release - June 21, 2016
»corporate.comcast.com/ne ··· ustomers

Also on MCN:

Comcast Business Checks In With X1 Hotel Trials
Division seeks new opportunities for MSO’s cloud-based video platform

By Jeff Baumgartner, Multichannel News - June 21, 2016
»www.multichannel.com/new ··· s/405832