cypherstream
There's no place like 127.0.0.1
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
 ·Cingular Wireless
| Service Electric Cablevision - Breaking News
My buddy just moved and transfered his service with SECV in Birdsboro, PA.
Now he already had his Motorola 6412 Phase 3 DVR with him, but while the guy was there installing in his new townhouse he upgraded his bedroom to a HD box, which happens to be a PACE box. So far he loves the Pace box.
The Cable guy said by the end of May this year, they plan to be all digital and launch 40 new high definition channels! That's right, 40 HD channels on top of the 30 they already have! If this cable guy is right (hopefully he is, that will put Service Electric up to 70 HD channels! Eat that Comcrap! Never underestimate the little cable operators!
You know the other thing that makes me want to believe the tech was that an article in our local Reading Eagle newspaper stated that Service Electric will be migrating to an ALL DIGITAL service, where every TV will require a set top box. You know how much bandwidth this frees??? Well they have about 77 Analog channels now, and they are a 750 MHz network pushing stuff past that to Ch 120. Talk about the little operator that could! |
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zed260
join:2007-09-30
Cleveland, TN | if they add sdv and move to mpeg4 encoding its possible they could add over 200 |
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MadMANN
Premium
join:2005-08-19 | reply to cypherstream
I confirmed that the same is happening in the Sunbury systems as well. However, their system is 860mhz. |
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cypherstream
There's no place like 127.0.0.1
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
·Cingular Wireless
edit:
January 27th, @12:37AM
| Reporting from my PDA at my buddies house...
WOW the PACE DVR is awesome! It still runs iguide v74, box firmware is 9.59. It does native HD pass through unlike the crappy motorola. The eSATA port actually works and there's no remote command queing issue either. Levels on Science channel HD are 36 SNR and return path is only 36 after 2 two way splitters. It has a cable card installed in it, but has a metal cover over it so you can't take it out without removing the screws on the external cover.
OK, signing out... |
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JeepMatt
Delaware Fios
Premium
join:2001-12-28
Wilmington, DE
 ·Verizon FIOS
 ·Comcast
| reply to MadMANN
MadMANN-
That's cool news about the Sunbury system. My parents and brother will get to enjoy that. I never knew that was an 860 system - but makes sense.
Any time table on that happening???
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!" |
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MadMANN
Premium
join:2005-08-19 | Well, as a former insider, I know that they always push their deadlines ahead, so even if I had a tentative, it probably wouldn't stick. |
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stevelion
join:2007-09-10
Fleetwood, PA
 ·Teleblend
edit:
February 13th, @03:00PM
| reply to cypherstream
I called SECV Birdsboro to discuss what would happen when they went all digital. I didn't feel that the CSR had the correct information so I finally spoke to a technician. He told me that they would simulcast some channels in both analog wand digital for quite some time. This is good news for me as I do not want converter boxes for all of my TVs for both aesthetic and cost reasons.
He confirmed that they are currently rolling out all channels in digital and that the updates should be available on Monday evenings. If using a QAM tuner, scan for changes on Mondays to get the updates. If using an analog/digital set-top-box, you don't need to do anything as the analog channel will just be replaced by the digital version when available. |
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rody_44
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Quakertown, PA
edit:
February 17th, @12:28PM
| reply to MadMANN
im pretty sure the tentative date is now 2012 for analogs to go away. thats what im being told. |
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JeepMatt
Delaware Fios
Premium
join:2001-12-28
Wilmington, DE | SECV - New Website
WOW!
Check out their new website!
www.secv.com
Channel lineups are finally updated - pretty impressive layout!
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!" |
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cypherstream
There's no place like 127.0.0.1
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
·Cingular Wireless
| reply to cypherstream
Re: Service Electric Cablevision - Breaking News
They are getting ready for a brand reimage campagign maybe....
With a ton of new HD channels on the horizon for 2008, perhaps they are modernizing their look and feel. I saw a SECV High Speed Internet billboard driving one day. The marketing on the billboard is really modern and hip. |
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Thermo1223
join:2001-12-20
Allentown, PA
| reply to cypherstream
Yet they still don't give a flying F about the Allentown and to some extent the Whitehall area.
They still are much worse than RCN I don't care how many HD channels they have.
Step number one to improving would be to drop Penn Tele Data off the face of the planet.
Numerous tech calls, numerous service visits, same crap different day. 
Waiting for Verizon to get back to me and then I am dropping them. Already went Directv, much better than SECTV could ever be and cheaper. |
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MadMANN
Premium
join:2005-08-19
·Comcast
| said by Thermo1223  :Yet they still don't give a flying F about the Allentown and to some extent the Whitehall area. They still are much worse than RCN I don't care how many HD channels they have. Step number one to improving would be to drop Penn Tele Data off the face of the planet. Numerous tech calls, numerous service visits, same crap different day. Waiting for Verizon to get back to me and then I am dropping them. Already went Directv, much better than SECTV could ever be and cheaper. You are talking about a different company. There is SECTV and there is SECV, which is what this thread is about. |
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JeepMatt
Delaware Fios
Premium
join:2001-12-28
Wilmington, DE
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast
| Exactly MadMANN!
Besides, PTD just re-did their entire network within PA from what I understand. I can ping my mom's computer on PTD in Central PA from my house on FIOS in DE in only 20ms.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!" |
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Thermo1223
join:2001-12-20
Allentown, PA | reply to cypherstream
It is the same company...
They just changed the name for your specific locale. |
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JeepMatt
Delaware Fios
Premium
join:2001-12-28
Wilmington, DE
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast
| Digital Phone
My mom just signed up to get SECV's digital phone service on 4/4 (she needed a day when she could be home for the install).
It will save her ~$20/mo over her Verizon phone bill - and she'll have unlimited long distance. Plus, now she'll only have 1 bill to pay to SECV.
It's always fun to see though how a smaller town company works. She had to physically go into the Sunbury office with a copy of her phone bill and to sign paperwork to port the VZ number over.
Man, w/ Comcast all you did was call in, do the verification prompt, and you were set. Must be the reason it used to take 30 days to get a modem install up there. 
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!" |
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cypherstream
There's no place like 127.0.0.1
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
·Cingular Wireless
| Cool. Let me know how they like the phone service.
Does it include:
Caller ID/ Call waiting caller id?
Unlimited long distance in the US?
Voice mail?
Outside voice mail access?
Let me know what kind of eMTA they use. Will it power both HSI and Phone?
I'm just curious how the smaller MSO's will compare to the big boys (Comcast and TWC). |
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cypherstream
There's no place like 127.0.0.1
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
·Cingular Wireless
edit:
March 15th, @04:35PM
| reply to cypherstream
Re: Service Electric Cablevision - Breaking News
I stayed over at a friends house with SECV Birdsboro, and I was the fist one up in the morning. I was flipping through the channels and it looks like they are almost done with all digital simulcast. The only channels without a DD symbol were 3,4,5,6, and 10. Everything else had that digital look to it.
Wonder why they didn't start with some of the lower channels. The lower you go the more analog fuzz. 3,4,5,and 6 would really benefit from ADS. The bulletin board on Ch 2 is digital though.
Anyway the digital quality was pretty good. I spot checked a few channel frequencies and levels and most of the ADS lineup was in the lower to middle 700 MHz range. All SNR's (even music choice on 93 MHz) were between 36.1 and 37.3 dB on tuner 1. Tuner 2 was about a 1 dB less.
I checked the NBA League pass preview channel on 340, and it even has a strong 37 dB SNR at 771 MHz. No errors what so ever. That's amazing for a 750 MHz system! I wonder how much higher they can push?
This was tested on a Motorola DCT-6416 Phase 3.
Firmware 16.42
I Guide 74.53 -3321
There is an HDMI audio issue with his box. If you turn on the TV AFTER the box, and switch from an SD channel to an HD channel with 5.1 audio, you get no sound. You have to soft power cycle the Motorola DCT. What's nice with SECV is that when you power off and on the box, the set top is on the last channel you were previously on. This makes power cycling so much faster. With the Comcast box, it always changes to channel 5 (CN8 Here) with a power cycle. This was with a Phillips 50" Plasma.
I did see his cable card Pace HD-DVR in the bedroom the night before, and I was pretty sure that the Pace box stretches the I-Guide to fill the screen, even on HD channels. I know my Motorola "Centers" the guide in the middle of the screen. With every channel change on the pace box though, the TV resync'd the video mode to the native resolution, which is a nice feature. IE) the TV said 720p when switching to National Geographic HD, and 1080i when switching to CBS HD. Overall the Pace box felt a little slower than his 6416 phase 3, but on par with my 6412 phase 2 on Comcast. |
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cypherstream
There's no place like 127.0.0.1
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
·Cingular Wireless
edit:
March 16th, @09:53PM
| reply to cypherstream
I was at my Dad's house today and I noticed that his street is all marked up with orange lines on sides of the roads lining up with the pedestals. There's a huge spool of black underground cable at the front and back of his street. There's also a parked truck with equipment that says fiber optic services or something like that on there.
I asked my Dad what that was all about and he says it's Service Electric. I wonder what they are doing? They already have a 750 MHz plant there, with a 39 dB SNR on their modem. Are they upgrading to 1 Gig?
His street's not that long, and it's a no outlet. I've seen Cable Services out and about around as well. Seems like SECV is doing some plant construction here and there. |
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JeepMatt
Delaware Fios
Premium
join:2001-12-28
Wilmington, DE
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast
| Digital Phone
Well, my mom got hooked up with digital phone Thursday.
So far, she's loving it, and thanked me for helping her save money.
As is the deal with SECV, they ran now a 3rd line from the tap for the phone service. Luckily they have a pole out by the road, which then runs through conduit to the house.
If all goes well, my brother will be switching over too. I talked to her last night - quality sounded good.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!" |
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cypherstream
There's no place like 127.0.0.1
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
·Cingular Wireless
edit:
April 5th, @03:49PM
| Wow a third drop! At that rate wouldn't some area's run out of tap ports??!!
Well in the Ped at my dad's house, theres an 8 port. It only feeds his house (I think). Two ports run to his house. Not sure where the third line goes. The neighbors appear to have their own peds. They just put all new peds in on the opposite side of the street as well. There's still marks on the ground from pa one call, but they are done. |
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