| reply to cypherstream
Re: [HD] FIOS Moving to MPEG-4 HD said by cypherstream:I say slowly switch in or just ADD new stuff like all the premium, sports and ethnic packages in HD but say hey we offer this but you need at least one of these HD boxes or DVR's (provide a list). Say the swap is FREE. Even offer to mail it out with a prelabeled return package for the old box. Roll the costs into network improvement. And surely they could write off those DCT-2000's and 2500's off by now?
Because its NEW services added, its at the customers discretion to change or not. Now maybe when 70% of the issued STB's are MPEG4, start simulcasting other services until you get everyone switched out.
That slow phase in is totally reasonable.
That's way less of a hassle and less immediately felt by customers than all the analog cut offs and total encryption change overs that have been phased in over the last 4 years. |
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BiggA
join:2005-11-23
EARTH Reviews:
 ·Comcast
| Yeah, you can work back down from the least popular stuff to the most popular channels over a period of a few months, and people will exchange the equipment. It's also not that drastic, as if people want to wait for whatever reason, they will just lose HD's over time, and still have the SD's and HD locals. |
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| reply to cypherstream
I wish there was a job where someone can get paid for being present in peoples home for an installation so they don't have to take off from work, like a surrogate "someone over 18 must be present" person, because I love installations. |
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BiggA
join:2005-11-23
EARTH | Moving to MPEG-4 has nothing to do with installers, as it's just a box swap that the customer would do by going to the service center and exchanging the boxes. |
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 DrDrewSo that others may surf.
join:2009-01-28
SoCal
kudos:8 | said by BiggA:Moving to MPEG-4 has nothing to do with installers, as it's just a box swap that the customer would do by going to the service center and exchanging the boxes.
Yeah.... that works for some, but for others they don't want to touch the box. They want the company to come out and do it.
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Two is one, one is none. If it's important, back it up... Somethimes 99.999% availability isn't even good enough. |
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| reply to BiggA
in some cases the in home wiring / wiring to pole may need to be replaced. |
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| said by Joe12345678:in some cases the in home wiring / wiring to pole may need to be replaced.
That really has nothing to do with the move to MPEG4, any wiring issues would still exist regardless of the codec used for the delivery of channels... |
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DrDrewSo that others may surf.
join:2009-01-28
SoCal
kudos:8 | said by SpHeRe31459:said by Joe12345678:in some cases the in home wiring / wiring to pole may need to be replaced.
That really has nothing to do with the move to MPEG4, any wiring issues would still exist regardless of the codec used for the delivery of channels... Actually when you start using higher compression, small problems that weren't noticeable previously might become a noticeable problem. That's the usual tradeoff, higher compression rates for less tolerance on error rates, kinda like QAM64 vs QAM256.
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Two is one, one is none. If it's important, back it up... Somethimes 99.999% availability isn't even good enough. |
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| reply to JeepMatt
Does anyone else find it funny that we're talking about something Verizon FiOS has done in a Comcast thread? |
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| Its always good to keep an eye on the competition and compare / contrast.
I have DirecTV but i still keep an eye on Comcast, Fios and a few others just to keep up to date. |
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4 edits | reply to DrDrew
said by DrDrew:said by SpHeRe31459:said by Joe12345678:in some cases the in home wiring / wiring to pole may need to be replaced.
That really has nothing to do with the move to MPEG4, any wiring issues would still exist regardless of the codec used for the delivery of channels... Actually when you start using higher compression, small problems that weren't noticeable previously might become a noticeable problem. That's the usual tradeoff, higher compression rates for less tolerance on error rates, kinda like QAM64 vs QAM256. What you're thinking of is the QAM encoding schema, which you mentioned. But those cabling issues have nothing to do with the transport stream payload being carried on the QAM in-and-of-itself, which is where the MPEG4 codec comes in. A customer could have problems with tuning a given frequency on their cable line regardless of what video compression is used. The QAM sensitivity is about tuning in a given frequency and then getting a stable error free data stream. The data type inside the stream is basically irrelevant. |
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| reply to JeepMatt
This is a good overview from PBS outlining the benefits to a move to MPEG4/AVC it also discusses it from a cable provider perspective, not just from an OTA one, along with future looking moves to alternative containers to TS, etc.
»secure.connect.pbs.org/conferenc···dman.pdf |
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BiggA
join:2005-11-23
EARTH | reply to DrDrew
If they're so lazy that they can't unplug the box, drive to the service center, get a new one, drive back and plug it in, then they should be charged a nice, profitable rate for the cable company to send someone out to do it for them. |
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andyrossPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-04
Schaumburg, IL | Many people break out in hives trying to figure out what you plug into what. It's one thing with a HDMI, but many older TV's may be using composite or component, and that can get very confusing for many people. |
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| Many people break out in hives at the thought of cooking dinner, too. They pay a premium to get takeout every night.
If you want someone else to do something for your benefit, you have to pay for it. |
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| reply to andyross
This reminds me of then time my elderly mother and her cousin had to install a new voice modem down in North Carolina. Took them two hours and a call to me to find the RJ11 phone jack hidden behind a sticker that said "remove for phone" |
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BiggA
join:2005-11-23
EARTH | reply to andyross
OMG! You have to plug the red into the red, the blue into the blue, the green into the green, it's SO complicated! If people are that retarded, they deserve to pay a hefty installation fee from the cable company. |
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andyrossPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-04
Schaumburg, IL | Believe me, even that is hard for alot of people. Not to mention trying to tell the different between RF IN and RF OUT and just reading tiny text stamped into the metal in a cramped or dim area. |
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DrDrewSo that others may surf.
join:2009-01-28
SoCal
kudos:8
4 edits | reply to BiggA
said by BiggA:OMG! You have to plug the red into the red, the blue into the blue, the green into the green, it's SO complicated! If people are that retarded, they deserve to pay a hefty installation fee from the cable company.
I've seen MULTIPLE people plug a device side USB cable into an ethernet port and wonder why their internet connection didn't work... They figure it fits so it must go there and those connectors look NOTHING alike. Imaging the problems when they do look the same.
This is the sort of stuff that makes large scale user equipment changes take a long time. This stuff creates trouble calls and calls for installation of "simple" things.
Yes, Comcast can charge for it, but that really looks bad when it's a Comcast box changed for an upgrade Comcast is doing that many customers won't see the benefits in doing. MPEG4 vs MPEG2 is "technobabble" to most.
What exactly is the end goal of a MPEG2 to MPEG4 change, that most customers (the average Joe) will understand, want, AND see? More channels? Is that what they want?
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Two is one, one is none. If it's important, back it up... Somethimes 99.999% availability isn't even good enough. |
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4 edits | said by DrDrew:I've seen MULTIPLE people plug a device side USB cable into an ethernet port and wonder why their internet connection didn't work... They figure it fits so it must go there and those connectors look NOTHING alike. I have to say I just saw this exact issue yesterday at work. Someone decided to mess with their printer without asking us for help (we're their IT people, we're in the same building two floors down) and so re-hooked up their USB cable into the printer's optional (and disabled) Ethernet port, and then wondered why their printer showed up as offline in the Devices and Printers control panel.
However the A/V cable situation is a little less dire. Comcast includes really clear big instructions with their new self-install kits from what I've seen of them. They even include an HDMI cable with the HD kits. »customer.comcast.com/help-and-su···all-kit/
There are installation help videos that the included paper docs tell you about here: »customer.comcast.com/help-and-su···-devices
I have to say their installation help/instructions have come a long way. The one thing they could do that would help is to color code the connectors on the included coax and HDMI cables, so they can refer to the "cable with the purple on it" or whatever. Since those cables aren't inherently color coded (unlike composite or component cables).
Many people will just ask someone at least slightly more tech savvy then they are (i.e. a son or daughter, a grandchild, or a tech savvy neighbor, etc.) to come over and help them or they'll just call Comcast support for a truck roll. Not really any way around it. It's certainly no worse than the analog phase-out where tons of people who had analog "cable ready" TV's so they've never had to care about a set-top box (or DTA) suddenly needed one and had to do self-installs.
said by DrDrew:What exactly is the end goal of a MPEG2 to MPEG4 change, that most customers (the average Joe) will understand, want, AND see? More channels? Is that what they want?
Yep ideally more channels and with less overall compression issues, so better image quality too. |
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